The recently held 2020 US Presidential elections hooked the whole world in front of their Television sets who skittishly waited for the voting count to reveal the must-waited results. Well, the mystery has been unveiled and Joe Biden is all set to be the 46th President of the United States. While Joe Biden's is yet to be sworn in, it's worth shedding the limelight on Dr. Jill Biden, Joe Biden's wife. Personally, it's a delight for me to find out that the former Second Lady and to-be First Lady of the United States is an educator!
“For America’s educators, this is a great day: You’re going to have one of your own in the White House", Joe Biden exclaimed during the 2020 presidential race.
Jill Biden's Education
One interesting phrase one would discover about Jill Biden while shuffling through websites is that she is a 'lifelong educator'.
Along with having a Bachelors, and two Masters' degrees, Jill Biden also earned her Doctorate in Education from the University of Delaware in 2007. She has taught English at a community college at a public high school and a psychiatric hospital for adolescents.
When asked about her future plans if she would keep teaching if she becomes the First Lady, she replied, "I hope so. I would love to. If we get to the White House, I'm gonna continue to teach. It's important, and I want people to value teachers and know their contributions, and lift up the profession."
Notably, while Joe Biden served as the Vice-President from 2008-2016, Jill was still teaching as a professor of English at Northern Virginia Community College.
Jill's Visit To A Mumbai School
"Teaching is not what I do. It's who I am," Jill Biden tweeted in August 2020.
Jill Biden has been a staunch advocate of education. In July 2013, she made a visit to Anjuman-I-Islam’s Saif Tyabji School at Bellasis Road in Mumbai Central. According to the TOI, the school charmingly remembers her visit when she spent a good amount of time with the school's students.
The Future of America's Education
With Jill Biden being the First Lady and an educator, the landscape of the American Education System looks even more greener. Joe Biden has promised an extravagant amount to spend in new education spending, for preschool through college. In addition, he has also proposed college debt forgiveness and he intends to overturn a controversial regulation on sexual harassment and assault that universities and others strongly opposed, reported the Washington Post.
As per Jill Biden, with the help of her Joining Forces initiative, along with First Lady Michelle Obama, they aimed to engage with military families to educate, challenge, and spark action from all sects of society. While she is in the White House, again, she is expecting to revive the same initiative.
In 1993, in Delaware, Jill started the Biden Breast Health Initiative that has imparted education about the importance of early detection of breast cancer to more than 10,000 high school girls. As for today, she continues to stress the importance of breast cancer research and its early detection.
America's Ranking In Education Sector
According to the 2020 Best Countries for Education perception-based global survey, United States stand at the top position in the education sector, while United Kingdom occupies the second spot.
The survey used a compilation of scores from three attributes, that are: a well-developed public education system, students would consider attending university in that country, and the country provides top-quality education.
"Ironically, the United States consistently scores lower than many other countries in benchmarks such as math and science. According to the Business Insider report in 2018, its education ranking was 38th in math scores and 24th in science. The United States' education rankings have been falling by international standards over the past three decades, as the government has decreased education funding by 3%. Still, other countries have increased their education funding", writes the World Population Review. It would be enthralling to trace America's journey on the educational landscape from now onwards.
Well, there is so much left to encounter and experience, however, having a 'lifelong educator' in the White House would surely be mesmerizing and momentous.
Udisha Srivastav is currently working as a Content Manager at MakeShift.
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