Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1484782
AT THE CAPITOL 6 ADVOCATE | WINTER 2022 Union Educators Get Out the Vote First Lady Dr. Jill Biden Urges Teachers to Keep Helping Students and Their Communities F irst Lady Dr. Jill Biden encouraged teachers to continue their work to help students and their communities during a Saturday morning rally at the Arizona Education Association (AEA) office i Phoenix before educators and education advocates knocked on doors to talk with voters the last weekend before the Nov. 8 elections. "One of the things I love about educators is that we aren't just dreamers. We're doers," said Biden, an educator and member of the National Education Association (NEA). "When our lessons don't go according to plan, we fi d a way to make it work. I'm sure that's not happened to anybody here, right? And when our students are struggling, we help. And the results are the lives we change." "Right now, someone out there is a better thinker because of you. Someone is standing a little taller, because you helped her fi d the confide ce that she needed. Someone is working a little harder, because you pushed him to try. Someone is kinder, because you showed her what that meant. And someone is braver, because you helped him fi d his courage," Biden said. "We aren't just doers in the classroom, are we? No. Look at this," Biden said to the crowd. "When our students come to class hungry, and I know that's happened to all of you. When our schools need more support, when we see injustice and inequality, we speak up, we organize, we fi ht for the communities we care about, and we never give up," Biden said. "You, the public educators of Arizona have adapted," said Adrian Fontes, AEA's recommended candidate for Secretary of State. "You improvised, and you overcame. So, kudos to every single one of you. You are the basis for so much of what we take for granted. You are the bedrock, and you should be congratulated for that hard work and hard effort.