With the election of Joe bidden as the president-elect of the United State of America, his wife Jill Biden promised to continue her lifetime goal of supporting military families in making sure their children have a standard education. These include children that face educational challenges due to deployment of parents, unstable environment and other aspects of life. The military family serves the country and makes a lot of sacrifices therefore, they need to be well equipped and their families deserve the best treatment when they are deployed. During the Military Child Education Coalition virtual conference in November 2020, she explained that many military children are left with no choice when it comes to moving around and many of them spend their holiday without their parents and also leave their friends behind.
“During her tenure as the second first lady of the United State of America under the Obama administration, she traveled far and wide to meet many military families and teachers,” says Robert Pinero, a veteran coach. She also speaks to them about the need for better treatment and education system for the military children Robert explains. Jill Biden talked about the “Operation educate the Educator”, a program jointly developed by the American Association of Colleges for Teachers Education and the Military Child Education Coalition which was launched during the Obama Administration. The joining force was an attempt by both Jill Biden and Micheal Obama, the former first lady of the United States of America to create awareness of the challenges faced by military families. And also educate schools about principles that will better prepare educators to understand, recognize, and address the needs of military children while they are teaching.
The Military Child Education Coalition stated that every child in the military family moves six to ten times from when they start kindergarten and before they graduate from high school. Also, school-age military members on duty children are estimated to be 1.2 million and many of these children attend public schools. As an educator for over 30years, she quotes a recent result of the Military Child Education Coalition survey in which parents, teachers, and students talk about the resources they all need to give military children the education and stability they deserve.
The Non-profit organization survey also indicates that fifty percent of parents and military students that responded feel the schools they attend do not meet their educational needs. With this important information, a better path will be created for schools, educators, and parents as many military children face hardship and choose to be resilient every day. They also deal with challenges greater than them and had to sacrifice for a course greater than anyone Jill Biden explained. That is why we all need to work together to support them, elevate them, and give them what they need to excel and flourish in life she added.
Being someone that has a first-hand experience with her Beau Biden, her stepson who served in the Army National Guard was deployed to Iraq for a year, she definitely knows what to take to be in the military and how the children can be impacted,” Robert Pinero says. In her explanation, the grandchildren face a lot of challenges. And one of his daughter’s teachers helped by putting up a picture of Beau’s unit. This does not only make her see her father every day, but it also helps her understand the importance of her father’s service she narrated. This experience inspired her granddaughter and her classmates while the teachers admired her father’s bravery and courage.
The students also reported that it takes them two to three months to adjust to their new environment and they are often concern about fitting in and acceptance in the school and local culture.
