I trusted them, but they didn't trust me

A former student trusted me enough to confide in me about a pregnancy scare. She knew that I would listen to her and keep her secret. I did. A year or so later she trusted me again by telling me that she was expecting. I helped her navigate the school system to get all the support she needed. She is now doing well. She did all this without her parents ever knowing.<br><br>A former student trusted me enough to confide in me about her concerns about how a coach was treating her. I listened and supported her. She trusted me enough to tell me that she had confided in another teacher about this but after that meeting she felt like the coach was retaliating against her. She felt like the other teacher didn't stand up for her. I kept her secret. Cried with her. If the school was supposed to be a safe place, where should she have gone?<br><br>Similar stories have happened multiple times in the 25 years I have taught. The students trusted me and I kept their confidences. I listened. I still CRY thinking about some of the things that students have told me. I have been glad that students trusted me enough to share their stories. I'm glad I had the right to protect them and listen to them. To be there for them when they didn't feel safe or comfortable going anywhere else.<br><br>Why did they trust me? Why would they trust their secrets to me? Because I’m a mandated reporter.<br><br>Edit: this is a story from a real teacher. It is a story from my life as a teacher. <br><br>But it is also a part of a reply I wrote on a post titled "I'm a nurse of 15 years and I'm done" in the sub r/nursing. I’m not in nursing. I’m just a teacher who is concerned for your safety. I do not know how to help you but I want to. I want to hear your stories. What you are going through is horrific. I want to help and I do not know how. <br><br>In the end I decided to copy the reply and put it in my own sub so that my students could see it if they wanted to. So that their parents could see it. So that the community could see it. This is who I am. This is why I do what I do. I care about my students. I love them. I am what many of you have been looking for right now. Someone who cares. When the world fails I will pick you up and help you through it. I will be there for you. I will listen. I will cry with you. I will do everything I can to help. And I’ll smile and I’ll laugh and I’ll love you until you believe in yourself again. Cuz that is who I am. I am a teacher.