Teachers of the Year Visit the White House

On Tuesday President Barack Obama welcomed 55 Teachers of the Year to the White House, including this year’s
Teacher of the Year, retired New York police captain, special education teacher Anthony Mullen from the Arch School in Greenwich, Conn.

Here are some of the President’s remarks:

You know, we’ve got a lot of teachers here today and I’m a big fan of teachers because every single day in classrooms all across America, you are making a difference. You don’t always get the recognition that you deserve. We don’t always value the teaching profession like we should.

But every once in a while, I think people start to understand not just in their own lives but in the lives of the nation how important the teaching profession is and how we’ve got to do a better job of lifting it up. In a global economy where the greatest job qualification isn’t what you can do but what you know, our teachers are the key to our nation’s success; to whether America will lead the world in the discoveries and the innovations and economic prosperity of this new century.

And that’s why as President I’m committed to doing everything I can to support the work of teachers. That’s why we’re working to create better standards and assessments that teachers can use in their classroom. That’s why we’re promoting innovation in teaching and learning, making critical investments in early childhood education, and helping more Americans walk through the door of higher education.

And it’s why we’re taking ground-breaking steps to recruit, prepare, support and reward outstanding teachers — to encourage our best and brightest young people to follow in the footsteps of folks just like you. This is especially critical right now, as so many teachers from the baby boom generation are preparing to retire — although they all look pretty young back here — (laughter) — we’re not worried about that. And recent evaluations of student performance show that while we’re making progress, we still have a long way to go.

I know personally, Michelle knows that what teachers do is not easy. My sister, Maya, is a teacher; Jill Biden, a teacher. We know how hard teachers work. And I know what all of you do by staying past that last bell; staying up late grading those papers; putting together lesson plans; spending your own money on books and supplies; and going beyond the call of duty. You do it because you know that’s what will make a difference, because you believe that there’s no such thing as a child that can’t learn; that every child has their own gifts, and it’s up to us to discover them — and it’s up to us to see in our children what they can’t yet see in themselves.

And for you, those teachers who are in attendance today and for so many of your colleagues across this country, teaching is not just about a paycheck — it’s a passion and it’s a calling.

You can read Dr. Jill Biden’s account of the day here.