Hot for Teacher

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Hot for Teacher is a song by the American rock band Van Halen, taken from their sixth studio album, 1984. Born in 1960, this song is deep in my brain. 

Today is Sunday, the day after Joe Biden and Kamala Harris made their historic victory speeches. So, it is going to be hard to write a blog that is not on the topic of the 2020 election. 

But, I do run the Distance Learning Association. And all things teaching, training, coaching, education and "Teachers" is a big part of my entire professional existence. 

Back in the day, Tipper Gore, wife of then Sen. Al Gore, was shocked by the Van Halen "Hot for Teacher" video. "The images frightened my children," she said. "They frightened me!" By May 1985, Gore would form the Parents Music Resource Center, which lobbied the recording industry to create a ratings system apprising buyers of explicit content. I wonder what Tipper Gore would have to say about President Trump's twitter account of the past many years. 

Jill Tracy Jacobs Biden is an American Educator who was the second lady of the United States from 2009 to 2017. 

Dr. Jill Biden's Wikipedia page has been updated in the last 24 hours.  It now says that Jill Tracy Jacobs Biden is the First Lady of the United States designate. Most importantly, it says that she was born in Hammonton, New Jersey. Priorities, right? 

In January 2007, at the age of 55, Jill Biden received a Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) in educational leadership from the University of Delaware. Her dissertation, Student Retention at the Community College: Meeting Students Needs has been downloaded over a million times - in the past 72 hours. 

On the second night of the virtual 2020 Democratic National Convention, Jill Biden spoke from the classroom at Brandywine High School where she had once taught English. She drew parallels between family suffering and the plight of the country saying, "How do you make a broken family whole? The same way you make a nation whole. With love and understanding and with small acts of kindness, with bravery, with unwavering faith."

In my humble opinion, EVERYTHING we have as a nation, is due to our veterans and due to our teachers. All the things we take for granted, all the things that we enjoy from the worlds of science and technology, were born from the minds and the dedicated voices of our teachers. From K-12 to College and University, our lives are formed and molded by our teachers. Our teachers spend more time with our children than parents, in many cases. The only thing better is when a returning veteran becomes a teacher. That is when they go from serving our country - to serving our country, without missing a beat. 

In July 2020 Dr. Jill Biden spoke out about the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on education, appearing in a video with her husband to emphasize that she understood the frustrations that children, parents, and teachers were having with virtual education substitutes but saying that "Schools and parents alike want a clear, science-based strategy, not mixed messages and ultimatums." 

I know that my wife Dianne will see this blog. Heck, she will be the first one to proofread it for me. So, with a clear conscience, I can honestly say in the most innocent and wholesome way:

I am once again, Hot for Teacher. 

Dr. Jill Biden, America's Teacher.

Van Halen 1984 <<< Hot for Teacher Video