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Finally, Kate Middleton, The Duchess of Cambridge, and First Lady Jill Biden officially met. The two visited Connor Downs Academy in Hayle, West Cornwall, together and discussed education in the roundtable with experts.
Kate Middleton and Jill Biden’s First Meeting
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Last month, Kate Middleton and First Lady Jill Biden met for the first time. Both lover of education, the two discussed the importance of schooling with the British early education experts in person, including Eamon McCrory, of the University College London; Trudi Seneviratne, of the Royal College of Psychiatrists; Ed Vainker, of the Reach Foundation; and Owen Thomas, of the organization Future Men. Meanwhile, United States professionals like Miriam Calderon, of the Department of Education; Miranda Lynch Smith, of the Department of Health and Human Services; Katie Hamm, of the Administration for Children and Families joined the meeting remotely.
The Duchess of Cambridge said it was “a huge honor” to meet with the current U.S. first family, and Biden agreed. Biden also felt incredibly impressed with the 4-and 5-year-olds at the school, saying they were “so well behaved. I couldn’t get over it. Early childhood education is so important to lay the foundation for all of our students.” At the school, the kids shared their class bunnies and drawing skills with the two powerful women, and also gave the two flowers, thanking them for their visit.
Uniting For A Great Future
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Biden, who has been an educator for over 25 years, took a strong stance on the importance of childhood care and education during the roundtable discussion. “We both believe that part of this vision for the future must include a fundamental shift in how our countries approach the earliest years of life,” Biden and Middleton said. “If we care about how children perform at school, how they succeed in their careers when they are older, and about their lifelong mental and physical health, then we have to care about how we are nurturing their brains, their experiences and relationships in the early years before school.” They also stated that caring for parents and teachers should rank just as important as caring for the children.
Biden and Middleton also believe that the U.S. and U.K. should untie over education issues. Likewise, they implore families, communities, business leaders, governments, everyone to support bringing up children well, even if they don’t have kids themselves. After all, they are the future!
“We both have work to do in our own countries, but we also hope that we can work together across borders and oceans on how to elevate the importance of early care and learning for children,” the Duchess and First Lady explained. “We should undertake new, international research projects and highlight the most successful, innovative examples of early years interventions that we can all share and learn from.”
