The hallmarks of a state dinner were there: lavish floral displays in the White House, the first lady appearing in a floor-length sequined gown, and members of Congress and Cabinet secretaries mingling. However, the guest of honor was not the President of France or the Prime Minister of Japan.
It was Missy Testerman from Rogersville City School in rural Tennessee.
Jill Biden, the first lady, launched a new format for presenting the National Teacher of the Year award on Thursday by welcoming this year’s winner, Ms. Testerman, and dozens of other teachers from across the country to the White House in a mock ceremony the pageantry normally reserved for foreign dignitaries.
Dr. Biden, who has kept her job as an English professor while serving as first lady and has advocated for support for community colleges from the White House, spoke in support of teachers’ unions in her opening remarks and emphasized the need to help educators after that Covid-19 pandemic.
“Tonight we celebrate you because teaching is not just a job but a calling,” said Dr. Biden, adding: “Hacking this call to service is in itself an act of hope.”
Ms. Testerman, an English as a second language teacher who worked as a first and second grade teacher for 30 years, also spoke about the importance of her job.
“As an English as a Second Language teacher, my students are all either immigrants to our country or first-generation Americans born to immigrant parents,” Ms. Testerman said. “Hearing about the experiences of my students and their families reminds me daily what a privilege it is to be an American and what a privilege it is to attend a public school in this country.”
The Council of Chief State School Officers, which oversees the awards program, has honored finalists and a winner at the White House almost every year since 1952, according to the council’s website. Dr. Biden chaired the awards ceremony in every year of President Biden’s term in office. (Mr. Biden, returning from a trip to North Carolina, stopped by briefly, reflected on his days as a law teacher and told teachers: “You are the kite strings that soar our national ambitions.”)
This year’s evolution of the ceremony included floral arrangements featuring irises – Tennessee’s state flower – and classroom decorations. Guests dined on a menu of lobster ravioli and honey-poached apple mousse and were entertained by the US Army Chorus featuring the Army and Air Force Strings.
Miguel A. Cardona, the education secretary, told attendees that the event was intended to “give our teachers a level of national respect that is long overdue.”
A total of 57 teachers were in attendance Thursday, including previous honorees, according to a guest list released by the White House. In addition to the honor, selected teachers are also invited to a one-year training program.
Ahead of the event, the White House announced new measures aimed at encouraging higher pay for teachers and highlighted changes to the public service lending program, a centerpiece of Mr. Biden’s efforts to reduce student debt, which it Allowing public servants like teachers to reduce their federal student loan debt will be forgiven after 10 years.
Dr. Biden, a teacher for more than 30 years and a member of the National Education Association, has frequently weighed in on education policy, particularly during the transition to in-person learning after the Covid crisis subsides. She also advocated for making community college tuition free, although legislation she helped draft did not survive in Congress.
Mr. Biden renewed the call for free community college as a policy priority in his budget for the next fiscal year, but the proposal has little chance of becoming law because Republicans have control of the House of Representatives.
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2024-05-03 02:01:40
www.nytimes.com
