Jill Biden, the Educator and the First Lady of USA - Nia M Wardani | A Logbook of Life Discoveries

 

Jill Biden (taken from White House Archive)

As the result of the US election was announced, Jill Biden is now in the spotlight as the First Lady is insisting on keeping her job as an educator. She might not be having concern in politics, but she plays the key role of Joe Biden’s decision making, especially related to education.

Jill Bidden was born in 1951 in New Jersey in an Italian-American family. She is the eldest from her five sisters. She is married to Joe Biden as a second wife after his first wife passed away due to an accident.

Jill has more than 30 years of teaching experience. She teaches English reading and writing in public high schools, community colleges, universities, and an adolescent psychiatric facility.

She has a bachelor degree, two Master degrees, and one doctorate degree in English. His husband respected her so much that he preferred to call her Dr. Biden during formal meetings.

Although she is a wife to a political figure, while she is working with her students, she wants to keep as normal as possible. As mentioned in the Washington Post, while she is working with her students, not many know who she really is. She would just refer herself as ‘a relative to Joe Biden’ if a student asked her. “For me, I’m their English teacher, and I want it to stay that way,” she said to another newspaper.

On the other hand, while she was attending her husband’s campaign, no one will know that she is actually a professor of English. When she works at community college and university, she acts as a normal professor, having a normal weekday schedule and office hours, and asking permission from the institute when she needs to leave a duty. Even back then, when it was time for her to defend her thesis for one of the multiple degrees that she earned, she requested that she wanted it to be private, only between the panel and herself. She didn’t want her position as a wife of Joe Biden changed people’s perspective of who she is.

Jill Biden’s Time Management

Having a full time job, and supporting her husband’s career at the same time, you must already know that she has a very good time management. Jill Biden keeps teaching on weekdays, while coming to campaign rallies during weekends to support her husband. People mention that she was always grading students' papers while she was on the rally bus.

There is also a moment when she is so busy that she has a full time job as a teacher, and also is pursuing a degree at the same time, meanwhile having a number of activities to support her husband's role in politics, not to forget that she is a mother herself.

Jill was frequently mentioned as grading students essays, during the activities in her husband’s campaign. Obama mentioned her as,”.. Diligent” and ”.. Always grading paper.”

She is also active in social activities. She founded the Biden Breast Health Initiatives, an organisation that primarily focused on raising awareness of breast cancer and giving free informational sessions to schools to educate students about breast cancer. She is also active in helping families of military, and trying to help their needs.

She also found herself time to write three books, two of them being children books.

One word for her, WOW.

As well as how I make time for blogging despite all my teaching work, I believe the key of her high skill in time management relies on her inner motivation to keep everything on track. She declared herself how teaching is important for her, as well as supporting her husband in his political career so he can make big changes in higher level decision making.

Influence in Education Sector

The United States is obviously facing a great problem in the education sector. Just before the pandemic started to enter the states, if you still remember, the problem of resignation of many public school teachers leaving schools lacking teachers. Some schools even needed to hire English speaking foreign teachers from other countries such as the Philippines to cover the needs. (If you happen to be those hired teachers, my post about being a substitute teacher might help you.)

The reason for resignation of those teachers are actually obvious. Just as moral and spiritual values are getting eroded from society, students are starting to let out their frustrations to other people. Once through bullying, and later these days they began to attack teachers. As teachers become the victims of violence at school by their own students and teachers found almost no support from the states, there is no reason for them to stay the high risk low paying job. And after the rule was released about teachers not allowed to touch a student at any point, the condition got worse.

With no support in the education sector the country will just fall into a deeper and deeper problem. Let’s just mention the topic that arose just before the election : Black lives matter. If students are taught about equality from their early ages, if they are treated equally without looking at which race they are, if all of them are given the best quality of education, this issue will disappear.

Jill Biden obviously has a great passion in the education sector. She thinks that her job teaching in community colleges is something personal. She said that people in the community colleges are busy people. They are trying to keep up with their college work, while doing another part time job and raising family at the same time.

Her commitment is clearly seen when she is so furious when the Education secretary Betsy DeVos urges schools to reopen as soon as possible despite the risk due to the coronavirus pandemic. She made sure that if Joe Biden is elected as a president, the next education secretary must be a real educator with real experience in public school.

As Jill Biden is now stepping to the stage of the First Lady, people are looking forward to see her greater influence in decisions taken in the White House. Let’s hope that her influence can make a better life for the people of the United States, especially for our fellow teachers and students.