This Is What Jill Biden Loves Most About Teaching
Most people know Dr. Jill Biden as the wife of the current United States President, Joe Biden, but she's also a powerhouse in her own right. What some people don't realize, though, is that Dr. Biden is a staunch advocate for education and has worked in the field for years. Her extensive knowledge has carried her into lofty positions, and it's why people shouldn't question her appearances at places such as the G7 Summit. She's a brilliant woman, proving that women can do anything they set their minds to.
According to the White House archives, Dr. Biden has more than three decades of experience in the education field, including teaching English at a Virginia community college. Moreover, she went on to earn her doctorate degree in education from the University of Delaware in 2007. She also holds two different master's degrees. For her doctorate degree, though, Biden focused her dissertation on student retention in community colleges. These institutions are generally more affordable than traditional universities and provide opportunities for students of all social classes (via The Princeton Review), an avenue which Biden wants to further open and explore.
Before her time teaching at the college level, she taught younger students, beginning at St. Mark's High School in Delaware, and she remains, even as First Lady of the United States, a writing professor at Northern Virginia Community College (via Good Housekeeping). Her passion for education has never waned, even while living in the White House.
Jill Biden finds teaching incredibly rewarding
Dr. Jill Biden, who originally wanted to teach to share her love of literacy with people who "struggled with reading," roots her teaching philosophy in her students, aiming to bring out their full potential. When asked what the most rewarding part of teaching is, she told Good Housekeeping, "There is nothing like helping students find their confidence and begin to use their voices, or seeing that spark light up in their eyes the moment a concept falls into place."
She went on to say, "Working with community college students is deeply rewarding. My students work incredibly hard to make it to class, often between work and raising families. They want to learn. They bring diverse perspectives to our studies –- of travels and jobs and families and challenges they've had to overcome. It is such an honor to be the person to walk them through their studies, to give them the key that could unlock something life-changing."
Dr. Biden firmly believes in the community college as an institution because of the students that attend them, which is why she chose to not teach at a traditional university. Even now, Jill Biden is working to uplift the next generation of thinkers.