Remarks by the First Lady at a Virtual Thank You Event for Educators

[As prepared for delivery.]

Good evening.

We owe our schools and our communities better. We cannot accept this as normal. We must protect our children and educators from gun violence.

Thank you for being here.

It's hard to believe that this is one of our last gatherings of educators at the White House.

The day after Joe was inaugurated, nearly four years ago, I began my time as First Lady by thanking our nation's educators, alongside Randi and Becky.

The pandemic was still raging, so we sat six feet apart. And on that day, I promised you that as long as Joe was in the White House, educators would always have a seat at the table. That promise has been my guiding light over the last four years, and I hope you have felt your impact in all we've accomplished together.

We began this journey together.

I asked Randi and Becky to help gather us again as this chapter comes to a close.

And my message to you is simple: thank you.

Over the last four years, we've built an even stronger education system in this country—and it took all of us. Because policies don't work unless we implement them in our classrooms. And our schools don't transform lives without educators who are dedicated to this calling.

So thank you.

Thank you for opening your hearts and your classrooms to me, all across the country. For joining me for the first-ever Teachers of the Year State Dinner here at the White House. For coming together during the last election. For using your "teacher voice" to organize and get out the vote.

And I know that you will continue to push our nation forward in the way that only teachers can, making sure that our students are front and center.

Joe and I will be there with you every step of the way.

Most of all, I want to thank you for devoting your lives to our nation's students through the good days and tough ones, through setbacks and breakthroughs, through careful lesson plans and all the surprises we could never plan for.

Being your First Lady has been the honor of my life. But being your colleague has been the work of my life.

Last Thursday, I taught my last class of the semester, and my final class ever at Northern Virginia Community College.

I will always love this profession, which is why I continued to teach full-time while serving as your First Lady.

And I couldn't have done it without the love and support of fellow educators.

At every turn, you've stood by my side, lifted my spirits, and helped me remember that we're in this together.

And I will always be grateful to those who lead us forward.

Becky, thank you for being a bold champion of students and educators—and for encouraging them to become change-makers too. You help us set our sights on a brighter future, and show us how to fight for every inch of progress.

Randi, you are a force, and you use your power to lift up educators so that we can lift up our students. You remind us that we are not alone, and that we are unstoppable when we act together.

Joe and I are so grateful to both of you, and all of the educators that you represent.

And now, I'll turn it over to Randi.

***

Thank you, Becky.

Just a couple of weeks ago, on one of my final overseas trips, the U.S. Ambassador in Qatar told me about how, all of these years later, he still remembers the English teacher who changed his life.

All of us have someone we credit for creating an inflection point in our lives. And you are that someone.

Every day, you see something in your students—a spark of passion, a glimmer of talent—and you say, don't let the world miss out on your light.

Thanks to you, light shines out of your classrooms, every student a sun ray of your legacy.

We don't always see how far that light travels.

But right now, someone out there is standing a little taller because you helped them find the confidence they needed.

Someone is working a little harder because you pushed them to try.

Someone is braver because you helped them find their courage.

And someone has become a teacher and mentor to their own students, because all of us are links in an endless chain of educators.

And while the world shifts under our feet, we will always have each other.

So right now, more than anything else, my message to you is this: Lean on each other. Be each other's strength. And never forget the power of education to transform lives.

From the bottom of my heart, thank you, and happy holidays.