How First Lady Jill Biden Evolved the Tradition of the State Dinner
For more than a century, the state dinner has been the most glamorous diplomatic tool a president has at his disposal, and almost exclusively, the pomp of these White House banquets has been reserved for foreign heads of state. They are doled out strategically, to shore up alliances and commemorate cultural ties between countries, but on Thursday, the Biden administration reimagined what a state dinner could look like with a celebration of teachers.
The evening featured all the trappings of a typical White House state dinner: a formal meal in the East Room set to the soundtrack of a military band; speeches from both the President and the First Lady; sophisticated, candlelit tablescapes; and attendees in floor-length gowns and tuxedos mingling with members of Congress, cabinet secretaries, and the Second Gentleman, Doug Emhoff. But this time, the honorees were educators, not diplomats.
“Traditionally, when the White House has hosted a state dinner, it’s been reserved for kings and queens, presidents and prime ministers. It’s a sign of respect for the most important leaders—and the immense impact they have on the people they represent,” Secretary of Education Dr. Miguel Cardona said in his opening remarks. “So in hosting a state dinner for teachers, the President and his administration is honoring our teachers with a level of national respect that is long overdue.”
In total, more than 200 guests traveled to the White House for Thursday’s event, including the national teacher of the year, Missy Testerman, of Rogersville City School in Tennessee, and state teachers of the year from 49 states and several U.S. territories. (Per Education Week, “This year, Florida did not participate in the national program, which is organized by the Council of Chief State School Officers.”) Also in attendance were previous national teacher of the year award winners and leaders of both the American Federation of Teachers and the National Education Association.
As a booming voice formally announced each guest's name before they entered the party, a giddy nervousness was palpable. They posed for photos, and answered questions from the press, with many sharing their excitement and gratitude to Dr. Biden for shining a spotlight on their work.
“It’s a really special night for teachers,” said Chasten Buttigieg, a former middle school drama and humanities teacher, and the husband of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, “and I’m so glad the First Lady is hosting this.”
The evening's decor nodded to the classroom (think books, rulers, and pencils), and tasteful floral arrangements featured irises, the state flower of Tennessee, in honor of Testerman. Several dishes on the night’s menu aptly highlighted apples, and perhaps as a homage to First Lady Laura Bush’s experience as a public school teacher and librarian, the Bush administration's gold-rimmed china was a focal point of the place settings. As a sweet touch, each honored teacher also received a thank you note from their students.
"As a son of a lifelong teacher, it was such an honor to bring Dr. Biden's vision of a teachers of the year state dinner to life,” White House Social Secretary Carlos Elizondo tells Town & Country. “From the apples and books featured in the dessert, to surprising the teachers with thank you notes from their schools, we intertwined the magic of the classroom with the splendor and significance traditionally bestowed upon world leaders. I hope the teachers will look back at this night and forever be reminded of the impact they have on our world every day.”
For Dr. Biden, the evening was one spent among her peers. She's been a classroom teacher for more than 30 years, and she spoke from personal experience when she told the crowd, “Teaching isn’t just a job, it’s a calling. And all of you were called to this profession for a reason. You believe that a better world is possible—and you make that world real, one student at a time. To answer the call of teaching, is in itself, an act of hope.”
Shortly after guests were served the first course, the First Lady was joined by the President, in a surprise appearance. He started his brief speech by introducing himself as, “Jill Biden’s husband.”
“You all are the reason why we have hope about the future,” he said, calling teachers “the kite strings that lift our national ambitions aloft.”
He also recalled his own experiences teaching in law school and at the University of Pennsylvania, and emphasized that he intends to continue making education a priority for his administration. “The idea that we can't do more in education seems to me to be a ludicrous notion,” he said. “How can we be made the most powerful, most meaningful country in the world without having the best education system in the world?”
The number of state dinners put on by each administration has greatly decreased since the end of the Cold War, making each one increasingly politically significant. While the Reagan administration saw more than 50, President Biden has only hosted six, including Thursday night's. He also plans to welcome Kenyan President William Ruto to the White House later this month. (For additional context, President Trump hosted two state dinners. Over his two terms, President Obama hosted 13, in addition to a series of state dinners for kids, thrown by First Lady Michelle Obama.)
“People get fixated on the glitz and glam, but there is a strategy behind it. It's not just done as a throwaway. It's not just done to be done,” Dr. Matthew Costello, the chief education officer at the White House Historical Association, says of the decision-making process behind state dinners throughout history. “If they're doing fewer dinners, then you really need to be thinking hard and thinking critically about, who are we inviting? Why are we inviting them? What are we talking about and what are we hoping to achieve in terms of policy?”
By evolving the tradition, the President and First Lady not only used the state dinner to put a spotlight on the administration's newest education initiatives, which include increasing funding for special education teachers as well as measures to promote teacher recruitment and retention, but they also recognized educators, and the critical work they do every day, on the national stage, in a way that hasn't ever been done before.
“This room represents potential—the glittering hope ahead—what we give to the next generation,” Dr. Biden said. "Never forget that, student by student, the lives you change go on to change the world.”
You Might Also Like
