Biden Makes Controversial Remark During Teacher Of The Year Ceremony
During this week's teacher of the year ceremony, Biden made a controversial remark about children in the classroom.
On Wednesday, April 27th, President Joe Biden and his wife Dr. Jill Biden hosted teachers from every walk of the country at a special ceremony in the White House commemorating the educators’ hard work. During the teacher of the year ceremony, the couple both spoke to the group, lauding America’s top educators for their continued passion to help kids learn and grow. But when the 46th President gave his speech, it was met with dumbstruck reactions and outright anger for a certain comment.
See what caused all the outrage below.
The 37-second clip from the teacher of the year ceremony was shared by the Twitter account, American Principles. The social media account is affiliated with the American Principles Project, a populist conservative think tank. The Tweet picked up steam when it was reshared by the viral sensation, Libs of TikTok. But likely the biggest factor that garnered the Tweet so much attention was that it claimed Biden told teachers that children belong to the teachers.
Responding with a quote exclaiming, “They are our children,” the user was alluding that Biden claimed the children belonged to the teachers, not the parents. It’s a saying heard all over the news this year, as many Republican campaigns promise to fight to regain control of education in favor of parents, not teachers. In the past year, NPR reports that over 137 bills limiting teachers’ abilities in classrooms have been introduced in various states. Most of these are part of an effort to give parents more control. So regardless of Biden’s intentions during his teacher of the year speech, it was met with disdain.
Divided, as usual, many users jumped to the President’s defense. Some noted that the Twitter account misquoted Biden’s actual works in the video. In all actuality, the president is heard saying, “They’re not somebody else’s children, they’re like yours when they’re in the classroom.” Omitting the word like can, in certain situations, changes the context of his words. But regardless, at a time when a vast majority of the nation is claiming public schools are indoctrinating America’s youth, it might not have been in good form to make such a comment.
But still, in support, some parents spoke in favor of the President’s remarks. Some users said that teachers should treat their children like they’re their own. These users argued that children spend so much time in class with these mentors, adding in how close many students become with their educators – such as the teachers of the year – that they hope they would treat them like their own.
On the other side, opponents argued that Biden’s sentiments during the teacher of the year ceremony resonated with what many conservatives feel is a huge problem in public education. They feel that teachers have long been pushing their own personal agendas and beliefs on students, even accusing them of indoctrination. Many say this culminated at the onset of the pandemic. When the majority of schools moved to remote learning, parents got a first-hand look at what classrooms were discussing and learning, and it outraged many.
The Twitter battle over Biden’s teacher of the year remarks is nothing new in the heavily divided nation. The numbers are telling, as an updated poll shows that half of America currently disapproves of the President. And as half of the nation might celebrate America’s teachers this month, the other half continues its battle to limit their abilities.
