Saturday, December 6, 2008

Caroline Kennedy in the senate - does it get any better than that?

I was excited to see that Ms. Kennedy Schlossberg is considering the soon-to-be-vacated NY Senate seat when Hillary Clinton is confirmed by the senate to become the next Secretary of State in the Obama administration.

Caroline Kennedy is a formidable woman - she has of course, the benefit of being from one of the most amazing political families of our generation - her relatives have changed the face of America for the better - Robert, John and her uncle Ted who was diagnosed with cancer earlier this year - may God bless him.

Caroline is known for her advocacy work that centers around public education - we all know that our education system in this country is fraught with trials, ineptitude, low scores, crowded classrooms, low teacher morale and the list goes on. As a former educator, I purposely took a job in a private school so that my children would have the benefit of attending. In my most recent home state of Utah, charter schools are springing up at an amazing rate - their schools perform almost at the bottom in the nation - when it comes to per capita spending, they fall behind Mississippi. Our students deserve more.

For a time, I served on a board (Utah council of Educators) to try to address such inequities in the Utah school system where 3 of my 4 children were attending and succeeding and failing at varying levels. With Mrs. Kennedy in the senate, we can ensure that our children's needs are being met at the highest levels - inadequacies and inequities that exist in schools could be addressed.

It would certainly shake up the crowded field of would-be candidates - an impressive field, I might add - they would serve for 2 years, finishing out Senator Clinton's term and then would need to be elected.

Change has finally come to this country - I welcome the change.

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