WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥 President Joe Biden honored the nation's best teachers Monday, saying they go above and beyond by providing food and supplies out of their own pockets and often find themselves 鈥渆xplaining the unexplainable, from banned books to duck-and-cover drills.鈥
鈥淭eaching should not be a life-threatening profession,鈥 Biden said, the United States. "And educators should not need to be armed to feel safe in the classroom."
He spoke at a Rose Garden event that honored the Council of Chief State School Officers' 2023 teachers of the year from each state. Tulsa, Oklahoma, math teacher Rebecka Peterson was named overall teacher of the year.
Biden spoke of the challenges of the modern-day teacher, including gun violence and a growing movement from the right to ban books in classrooms, Attempted book bans hit an all-time high in 2022.
鈥淚 never thought, as a student of history, I鈥檇 be a president that鈥檚 fighting against elected officials banning books,鈥 he said. 鈥淓mpty shelves don鈥檛 help kids learn very much." He said parents and teachers should stand up against 鈥漰oliticians who try to score political points by banning books."
Bills facilitating the restriction of books have been proposed or passed in Arizona, Iowa, Texas, Missouri and Oklahoma, among other states. In Florida, where Gov. Ron DeSantis has approved laws to review reading materials and limit classroom discussion of gender identity and race, books pulled indefinitely or temporarily include John Green鈥檚 鈥淟ooking for Alaska,鈥 Colleen Hoover鈥檚 鈥淗opeless,鈥 Margaret Atwood鈥檚 dystopian novel 鈥淭he Handmaid鈥檚 Tale鈥 and Grace Lin鈥檚 picture story 鈥淒im Sum for Everyone!鈥
Peterson, the teacher of the year, spoke of how she works to lift up her students and how she hopes the profession can bring people together. At Tulsa's Union High School, she runs the blog 鈥淥ne Good Thing,鈥 where she posts something good from her classroom every day, hoping to inspire her students to reflect on joy.
鈥淚n the end, maybe we鈥檙e all 鈥 all of us 鈥 just walking each other home,鈥 she said in a speech that referenced her Swedish and Iranian heritage. She became a U.S. citizen when she was 20 and said her immigrant view helps her see the beauty in the nation.
鈥淚 teach because it gives me life to offer the American Dream to the next generation,鈥 she said.
