Teachers are more likely to look at the pure facts about a candidate’s qualifications and abilities for their decision with less regards for minor character flaws, which we all have, and the gossip over the coconut wire. Teachers and educators by their very nature have virtue and approach the analysis of a candidate very much the same way they grade their students. Teachers have to weigh student’s academic achievements ONLY without being influenced by the behavior or acts of a student, which can be challenging for any human being especially when the student has been giving the teacher pure hell. Teachers are the best at determining the best student in a class of candidates, which is why candidates on the mainland seek the support of the Teacher Unions FIRST and foremost for credibility with other voters.
The challenge for voters is to grade the candidates in the same perspective as a teacher, because to do otherwise will be an injection of personal biasness resulting from a personal encounter or even gossip. The welfare of the CNMI is TOOOO important for anyone to use their vote for personal reasons. In the classroom teachers have to maintain their virtue and professionalism when grading students which is the same thing that voters must practice if they want to get it right for the sake of the entire CNMI — we call it civic virtue when a citizen can put the community above and beyond their personal biasness or preferences, especially when voting.
As a teacher I can attest to the fact that most educators and voters in the CNMI are truly tired of candidates using education just to get elected. While all the candidates are promoting their commitment to education it is clearly in the public records as to who the true champion of education is in the delegate race. It is also obvious PSS is not getting the help it really needs when PSS’s Local Budget has continued to decline for the past decade as the population has grown. PSS needs more “local funding” because they are doing a great job working with the feds to maximize on Federal grant opportunities but federal money can’t be used for local requirements like salaries for teachers, new schools, textbooks and etc. There is very little that can be done in Washington about a Local funding issue, which is why our ECONOMY should be at the top of our next Delegate’s list and not education, especially when Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands got 500 million each to specifically help rebuild their economy and infrastructure. I’m sure the average voter with common sense can see the problem and I hope this will help us all fix it on voting day.
Educators are some of the smartest voters and I have a good feeling they won’t be fooled by the politics of education in the delegate race, especially voters who know the history of our entire education system. There is only ONE candidate that has played a major role in our education system since its development. He is also responsible for PSS’s autonomous status, which keep PSS from being shut down recently with the government and he gave the FIRST computers to students which started this education reform. The funny part for me as a Teacher is I don’t even have to say his name because like in class I’m sure the majority of voters, like students, already know who the true champion of our education system is in the delegate race.
It is relatively easy for a teacher to determine who the top student is in a class and it is the same for voters to determine the best in this class of candidates but unlike teachers, voters inject their personal baggage in their decision to vote. TOOOO often in the CNMI’s recent history the personal baggage of voters has outweighed the pure facts, which is how we the people voted ourselves into this mess. This election should really be a land slide for the BEST candidate but the poor voting practices of the past may be a hard habit to break for some but I pray this will help.
We the people must start NOW, with the delegate race, to begin voting ourselves out of this mess by being informed voters with the best interest of the Commonwealth at heart to elect the best candidate with the best qualifications and the best chances to influence the U. S. Congress in the CNMI’s favor. Keep this in mind because there is only ONE candidate with the necessary broad base of experience and wisdom that comes with decades of public service that we need in a Congressman (Executive experience as Governor, Health Care experience as Director of Public Health, Legislative experience as Senator, Education as Chair of Board of Ed. & Chair of Board of Regents, Public Safety & Economic experience as Governor) — undisputed facts. But there is more, only ONE candidate has the OFFICIAL support of an entire party in Congress and it’s a fact because no other candidate has offered any official proof of national party support to voters and I’m sure they would if they truly had national support. There is also only ONE candidate with an established record of respect in Washington, working productively and collectively with all parts of the Federal Government. Most of the voters already know who this ONE candidate is which is why I have always viewed this as one of the easiest races to determine the BEST candidate.
Just like teachers can easily tell who is the top student, the fact that I don’t even have to mention the name of the best candidate yet most readers know who I’m talking about is proof as to who is really the BEST candidate for Washington. But voters can also be like students who sit in the back of class and know the answer to a question in class but too afraid to speak out or just don’t want to participate in class. But voters need to participate now more than ever before and you don’t have to be afraid in the voting booth — so please vote for the CNMI this time not yourself. The top student among the candidates is so easy to determine if voters will grade them like a teacher.
I could go on and on about the issues that clearly identifies who the top student is in this class of candidates for Congress and I think most voters already know. But do your homework and find out who the ONE candidate is if you don’t know. Voters must put their personal baggage aside and make their decisions very much like a teacher, impartially based on qualifications and experience for the BEST candidate with the BEST chances to be a winner for the CNMI in Congress. We must start NOW with the delegate race to move in a New Direction to find real prosperity. Biba for the ONE and our great Commonwealth!
AMBROSE M. BENNETT
Former BOE Teacher Rep.
Kagman, Saipan
