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First Lady Jill Biden visited Oakland Community College in Michigan on Friday along with Education Sec. Miguel Cardona to praise the return of in-person learning.
‘We did our best with virtual learning. There are some things you cannot replicate through a screen. That is why I am so happy to be back in class in person. Aren’t you?’
The first lady, a teacher herself at Northern Virginia Community College, returned to the classroom to teach English and writing earlier this month.
She also pushed for free community college as part of President Biden’s Build Back Better Agenda.
‘New jobs require new skills, and you see it right here in Michigan,’ Biden said, according to The Detroit News. ‘K-12 education is simply not enough to compete in a 21st-century economy.’
Her husband’s agenda provides $109 billion for two years’ free community college.
‘Community colleges are founded on the idea that no matter where we are, no matter where we come from or what struggles we’ve faced, all of us have the potential to grow and learn,’ she said to a crowd at the campus in Royal Oak, Mich., ‘to pursue fulfilling careers, to give back to our communities if only we are given the opportunity.’
First Lady Jill Biden visited Oakland Community College in Michigan on Friday along with Education Sec. Miguel Cardona to push for free community college as part of President Biden’s Build Back Better Agenda
‘New jobs require new skills, and you see it right here in Michigan,’ Biden, a full-time teacher herself at Northern Virginia Community College, said.
‘Community colleges are founded on the idea that no matter where we are, no matter where we come from or what struggles we’ve faced, all of us have the potential to grow and learn,’ she said to a crowd at the campus in Royal Oak, Mich.
Cardona, too, said that free community college was essential for the growth of the nation, and would particularly help black and brown students who chose to forego higher education to avoid being saddled with debt.
‘We know that when we provide free community college for all, it can serve as a foundation or a country’s growth,’ Cardona said. ‘We must get free community college for every student.’
‘It’s not just about two years of community college. It’s about being honest about our educational inequities and doing what is right to truly level the education field,’ Cardona said. ‘We know not all schools are resourced equally.
Biden talks with Michigan Rep. Andy Levin as she arrives to speak at Oakland Community College in Royal Oak
The first lady speaks with, from left, Chancellor Peter M. Provenzano, Jr., Levin, D-Mich., and Education Secretary Miguel Cardonas
President Biden’s agenda, wrapped into the $3.5 trillion budget reconciliation bill Democrats are working to get through Congress, would also fund universal pre-K.
Cardona has spent the last two days touring Michigan schools to promote early childhood education and literacy.
Democrats have proposed a $3.5 trillion spending plan that in addition to universal pre-K and free community college, makes significant investments in climate change measures, health care and child care, and other significant expansions of the social safety net.
The real figure is likely to be far lower, as Sens. Joe Manchin, D-W. Va., and Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., have said they would never support a price tag so high.
Manchin has over the summer balked at the idea of free tuition up front, but instead suggested forgivable loans for the first two years of college for those who graduate with an associate’s degree. Democrats need to win him over to pass their spending bill without the support of Republicans.
Source: dailymail
