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Teacher of the Year

(220 posts)
Sun Apr 14, 2024, 12:36 PM Apr 2024

Why We cracked Up Laughing... My Lunch With Dr Jill Biden

Dr Jill Biden announced that the 2024 State Teachers of the Year and the National Teacher of the Year will be honored by a state dinner at the Whitehouse. What an incredible honor.

During my year of service (Teacher of the Year, is one of those things where you aren't a "past Teacher of the Year" but you are the 2014 Teacher of the Year. We have a "year of service" where we are expected to perform a number of duties. Kind of like a Miss Oregon or a Miss Rhode Island does).

In my year Dr Jill Biden was the Second Lady and hosted us for lunch at the Vice Presidential Mansion. It was a lovely event that came with a photo. When I walked into the room to meet her and get the photo taken she and I both immediately burst into laughter. The Whitehouse had sent us a "dress code" of sorts. They asked for light colors and a warning that patterned shirts/jackets/ties do not photograph well and gave us suggestions on what to wear to the Whitehouse events. Neither one os seemed to have got that memo.

By bright blue shirt and her bright blue dress we're the same color. My houndstooth jacket in blues and my polka dot tie were the exact colors of her vividly striped dress. It gave us the giggles and you can see in the picture what a warm and kind person she is.

A few years later she was the headline speaker at the National Education Association's LGBTQ conference. Again, we both started laughing. My pink shirt and striped pink, Pink and PINK tie matched her dress exactly. We had a second laugh together.

I appreciate and respect Dr Biden on so many levels and I find we have much in common.. That she has stayed in the classroom when life gave her so many opportunities echoes my own life. She respects the profession so much and she gives much of her time to support her peers. But I also appreciate her love of color. Why be a navy blue or a grey when you can be aqua or hot pink?

(I don't know how to add a picture to DU but Alamy has a copy of the photo up and you can see it on their website....but don't buy it from them, for goodness sake. It is a photo taken by the US Government and available on Wikipedia for free. Alamy seems to just take any photo they find and slap a price tag on it, even though they have no ownership of the photo).

https://www.alamy.com/second-lady-dr-jill-biden-and-oregon-teacher-of-the-year-brett-bigham-image456848248.html

17 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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Why We cracked Up Laughing... My Lunch With Dr Jill Biden (Original Post) Teacher of the Year Apr 2024 OP
Great story! Here's a screenshot of that picture. erronis Apr 2024 #1
I love the chotchkas on the bookshelves behind them and the photographs. CTyankee Apr 2024 #2
The mansion is on Naval property. Teacher of the Year Apr 2024 #17
Very nice! Walleye Apr 2024 #4
How did you add that? Teacher of the Year Apr 2024 #8
A couple of ways. When you want to post online images, you can ancianita Apr 2024 #11
Thank you!!! Teacher of the Year Apr 2024 #16
That is the real Jill at least as far as I know her Walleye Apr 2024 #3
If you judge people by how they treat you and others... Boomerproud Apr 2024 #9
I always think, being nice to me never gets anybody anything. So if they are, it's just because they're nice people Walleye Apr 2024 #13
And by who they show up to support. Teacher of the Year Apr 2024 #14
Thank you for sharing that. Teacher of the Year Apr 2024 #15
This is so cute! Congratulations and thanks for livetohike Apr 2024 #5
💕🌺💕 Hekate Apr 2024 #6
Haven't smiled this big in days PuraVidaDreamin Apr 2024 #7
I was under a lot of stress at the time... Teacher of the Year Apr 2024 #12
Teacher of the Year....... Upthevibe Apr 2024 #10
17. The mansion is on Naval property.
Sun Apr 14, 2024, 11:01 PM
Apr 2024

It was interesting because the house, like the Whitehouse, is full of historical pieces that live in the house. That mirror behind us could have been there for 200 years and reflected many a Vice President and their wives, and now husband. The difference is the Vice Presidential Mansion is smaller and the Vice President and his family live in the entire house, and you see their personal items. Not so on the first floor of the Whitehouse.

ancianita

(42,724 posts)
11. A couple of ways. When you want to post online images, you can
Sun Apr 14, 2024, 02:55 PM
Apr 2024

either

1. highlight/copy/paste a URL of a photo/site image/pic in your DU post -- then before posting, hit 'preview' to see if DU opens the photo/site page image/pic with the URL alone (You can tell in advance that some URLs aren't intended to open when you see "static" or "encrypted" in the address). ANYway...
if the URL doesn't open on DU, then

2. use imgur.com's site to copy a photo. How to do that:
a) make a screenshot of the photo here, then
b) drag the screenshot from your desktop to this imgur window (the left side of box on https://imgur.com/upload), then click 'copy link';
wait until it says "Upload complete!", then right click the image you dragged to create that in a new imgur window tab
c) click on that tab, highlight/copy/paste imgur's new URL, to post and preview to see if that worked.
Imgur image URLs should work where other URLs won't.

hth, TOY





16. Thank you!!!
Sun Apr 14, 2024, 07:45 PM
Apr 2024

I did try that but didn't the preview button, so all I saw was text. Now I know there is a next step! Very good. Thank you much!

Walleye

(43,553 posts)
3. That is the real Jill at least as far as I know her
Sun Apr 14, 2024, 12:47 PM
Apr 2024

I live in the same neighborhood as the Biden family. I would see them shopping in the stores. I also worked for the Delaware news journal for 20 years, so I had interactions with them. They were always very nice to me and treated me with respect. And I’m afraid that’s how I judge people. Beau was attorney general of Delaware, I also covered his campaign, he was a prince

Boomerproud

(9,084 posts)
9. If you judge people by how they treat you and others...
Sun Apr 14, 2024, 01:34 PM
Apr 2024

That makes you a decent, humane person. I was lucky enough to have parents that were that way.

Walleye

(43,553 posts)
13. I always think, being nice to me never gets anybody anything. So if they are, it's just because they're nice people
Sun Apr 14, 2024, 05:46 PM
Apr 2024
14. And by who they show up to support.
Sun Apr 14, 2024, 06:32 PM
Apr 2024

It was not lost to me that when I saw Dr Biden at the NEA LGBTQ conference, the sitting First Lady was doing things like wearing coats with "I really don't care" written on her back.

PuraVidaDreamin

(4,431 posts)
7. Haven't smiled this big in days
Sun Apr 14, 2024, 01:01 PM
Apr 2024

The lightness and authentic playful silliness in this photo is just delightful.

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