Jerome H Powell: Welcoming remarks - teacher town hall meeting
Welcoming remarks (hybrid) by Mr Jerome H Powell, Chair of the Board of Governors
of the Federal Reserve System, at a conversation with the Chair: a Teacher Town Hall
Meeting, Washington DC, 28 September 2023.
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Thank you, Sarah, thank you to those in Fed Education who helped put together this
event, and thank you to the teachers here and online who have put aside some of their
planning time to listen and, I hope, also participate. If I were doing the grading, credit
would always be granted for participation.
We have scheduled this discussion with teachers well into the school year, partly to
highlight the beginning, on October 1, of Economic Education Month. At the Fed, every
month is Economic Education Month, and we are glad to join in the celebration.
It is, fortunately, a very different time for teachers than the one we faced in August
2021, the last time we held this discussion with educators. In the crisis of the pandemic,
teachers were on the front lines. I know how overwhelming this challenge was for many
of you, and the extent of your sacrifice, for which I thank you.
And the crisis in many ways continues, as research confirms the educational deficits
that students still suffer from the pandemic. In addition to the challenges they face,
there are likely to be consequences for the economy and for society, in a generation of
young people who may lack some of what they need to be well-informed and engaged
participants in our economy and our democracy. Addressing this legacy of the
pandemic is a major public policy challenge, so now more than ever, teachers are
crucial to America's future.
A large majority of you are economic educators, a role that is of particular importance.
As many of you know, the Fed's ability to influence the economy depends to some
extent on influencing the public's view of current and future economic conditions. When
my colleagues and I publish our projections for the most likely path for the economy and
interest rates, as we did a couple of weeks ago, one of our goals is to influence
spending and investment decisions today and in the months ahead. That will only be
the case if people understand what we are saying and what it means for their own
finances.
That's where you come in. By educating students about economics, not only are you
providing them with valuable skills to manage their finances, and to improve their
chances for future success in any number of occupations that draw on economic
thinking. You are also giving them the knowledge that they need to understand the
macroeconomy, including the implications of decisions that the Fed makes. Economic
educators impart knowledge that is instrumental in how the Federal Reserve promotes
a healthy economy. In a way, when you are teaching students, you are also conducting
monetary policy.
But you do a lot more than that. Teachers illuminate the world for us. They help us to
see the limitless possibilities in life, and as much as that, also in ourselves. At a
wonderful but also very vulnerable time in each of our lives, teachers like you are there
to help us understand the world, especially when it is hard to understand. I will leave
you with one of the many examples I could cite from my time in school. I can clearly
recall one November day, in fifth grade, at Blessed Sacrament School here in
Washington, D.C. My teacher Mrs. Keller was called away from class. I adored Mrs.
Keller, and when she returned to the room, I think every student was as upset as I was
to see her tear-streaked face. And then we got the news-President John F. Kennedy
had been shot and killed in Dallas. This was something that was very hard for my
classmates and me to understand, but Mrs. Keller pulled herself together and
convinced us that, somehow, everything was going to be all right. Teachers are there
for all of us, when we need your knowledge, your example, your encouragement, and
your care. Thank you for playing the indispensable role you do in our lives, and in our
children's lives. And now, I would be very happy to respond to your questions.