Vice President Biden to teachers: ‘You are not the problem’
Vice President Joe Biden | AP file
Updated: July 3, 2011 10:17PM
Teachers aren’t to blame for the nation’s budget problems, Vice President Biden told the nation’s largest teachers union on Sunday.
Speaking to thousands of educators attending the National Education Association annual meeting at McCormick Place, Biden also declared, “None of us would be in the positions we are today — not me, not Barack, not Michelle . . . if not for the inspiration, love and guidance of at least one or two teachers,” Biden said, mentioning President Obama and his wife. He told the crowd how when he was young, he stuttered so badly that he couldn’t even say his own name, and his elementary school teachers helped turn that around.
Biden also spoke out strongly against the policies of the Republican Party. “There is an organized effort in this country to place the blame of the budget shortfall squarely on educators. And it is one of the biggest scams in American history.”
He chastised the Republican Party, saying that they were disregarding the sacrifices of teachers.