For kids' sake: What the health care debate is really all about.

"I teach a wide range of children in my classroom--from the very affluent to the homeless. Very often, when children aren't feeling well, their parents send them to school anyway. The children come in. They're droopy. They're sad. They're sick.

They visit the health nurse, who calls the parents. The parents are upset because they have nowhere to take the children. They say, 'I have no health insurance. There's nothing I can do.' They just keep the children at home until they get better on their own and send them back to school.

It's very hard on families when you don't have health care. The children are always worried. They tell me, 'I can't get sick. Daddy can't get sick. Because we don't know what we're going to do.'"

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Fanny Avery Third grade teacher Howard County, Maryland

"A 15-year old came to my office complaining of headaches and stomach aches. She was very thin, her periods had stopped, and she was engaging in bulimic behaviors.

When I called her parents to talk to them about my concern, she was 104 pounds and missing a lot of school. They were very concerned.

Three months went by. The student was down to 90 pounds. She had gone from an honor roll student to getting Cs and Ds. But she hadn't gotten any medical care.

I found out her father had lost his job and his benefits. He and his wife had to set priorities: money was going for food and housing. They couldn't afford to take their daughter to the doctor. They didn't realize it was a life or death situation.

Ultimately, the student attempted suicide and was hospitalized. Because of the hospitalization, she got help and her family got financial assistance. By May, she was back in school. I heard she aced all of her exams and is doing well.

It's not that her parents didn't care. It's that they're very proud people. They didn't want to let people know that they might need something."

Linda Salmonsen School nurse Holden, Massachusetts

"Our PTA council has a partnership which local community health centers to help parents without insurance. One mother contacted me because her son had ringworm in the scalp, where it can cause a terrible infection.

The child looked like he'd been hit in the head with a baseball bat--the swelling was so large.

The mother was able to take her son to see a doctor, but the medication he needed cost $60, and she didn't have the money. Our PTA council was able to help her out. She called me back crying, she was so grateful."

Terri Robertson Elementary school office manager Las Vegas, Nevada

I remember one little boy in my class who said he had a headache. I took him to the office and called his mother to get her permission to give the child some aspirin or to get her to pick him up. She said, 'I know he's having trouble with his teeth, but I just haven't saved up enough to get him to the dentist.'

Sure, catastrophic needs are important. But if we don't find a way to take care of these day-to-day needs, we're going to end up with kids in sixth grade who are getting their permanent teeth pulled out."

Lily Eskelson President Utah Education Association

I had a student who was frostbitten. School staff wanted to take him to the hospital, but they found they were hopscotching from hospital to hospital. You see, his mother was on Medicaid.

Finally, it took a friend to call her personal physician who had a contact with a hospital, and they finally accepted this kid. This kid could have died or, at the least, lost one of his toes."

Reuben Green, Jr. Counselor Springfield, Massachusetts

"We see children who walk around in pain, children with gynecological disorders, infections, pregnancies. They'll delay getting medical care because they don't have insurance.

If they have a sore foot, they'll use their brother's crutches. If they have an allergy, they won't get a diagnosis; they'll take over-the-counter medications. They don't get X-rays when they need them. If they can't see or hear, they get used to it. Little kids don't know what's normal. They don't know everyone else can see the blackboard.

We're also seeing kids who share medications. Their families can't send them all to the doctor, so they send one and have everyone share the pills. It's dangerous, and it doesn't cure the problems. I've known kids who've taken out their own sutures rather than go back for a follow-up appointment.

If children know there's a financial problem at home, they won't seek help."

Jeanne Kiefner School nurse Cherry Hill, New Jersey

"I've seen more than I want to see of kids I worry about. Like Joe, a very sweet, cute little blond kid who was so thin. He came across very nervous and frightened all the time.

His babysitter brought him to school and came to open house. The first time I met his dad was when he came drunk to pick Joe up.

Joe struggled all year. When I called his dad on the phone, he told me what a tough time Joe's had. He told me Joe's mom left him for days at a time, then beat him. 'Finally I beat her up and kicked her out of here,' he said.

The next year, I asked Joe's first grade teacher how he was doing. She shook her head. 'He's just lost,' she told me. 'He's a very well-intentioned kid, never one to balk or refuse, never a behavior problem...just lost.'