John Robert Kerry, or simply Bob, already has done the United States a great deal of selfless service since his days as a Navy SEAL. On one of his encounters with the Viet Cong forces during his tour in the Vietnam War, Kerrey almost lost his life while leading a raid. Suffering from gunshot wounds, Bob Kerrey managed to effectively direct his men’s gunfire and successfully defeated a significantly large enemy force. He was given the Medal of Honor for his actions during the raid.

Bob Kerrey survived the war at the cost of a leg. But that did not stop him from entering politics in 1982 when he won as Governor of Nebraska. In 1988, he campaigned for and won a senatorial seat. He was reelected in 1994 and served as senator until he resigned from office in 2001.

Education has always been one of Bob Kerrey’s agenda and this is evident in his current position as President of the New School.

In educational reform issues, Kerrey has heavily supported the Educational Savings Account (ESA) initiative and provided a disapproving voice against the use of educational vouchers.

School vouchers are educational documents that act like cash and allow parents to send their kids to any school of their choice, whether private or public. Though it sounds like a good idea, the initiative itself is facing a lot of opposition. For one, school vouchers are vulnerable to financial irregularities and some states do not have adequate policies to safeguard students against educational deficiencies.

On the other hand, the Educational Savings Account program gets its fund from the students’ parents. The said initiative entails parents to pay Educational Savings Account, allowing them to be really involved with their children’s education. Bob Kerrey’s program includes annual $2,000 federal deposits for children ages 0-18, which can be used for education and retirement security benefits.