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Growing up, I was encouraged to get a good education, get a real job doing something I enjoyed, and, should the opportunity present itself, consider public service as just that: a chance to serve, not an end in itself.

I think there's no higher calling in terms of a career than public service, which is a chance to make a difference in people's lives and improve the world.

People have to take control of their own lives. Education is key because it also raises other social indicators like healthcare.

All around the United States of America - in the cities and the counties - our public education is suffering and has been suffering. Cuts, cuts, cuts.

So I want my kids to go to public schools because I think it's a better education overall.

Public education is an investment in our future.

Education promotes equality and lifts people out of poverty. It teaches children how to become good citizens. Education is not just for a privileged few, it is for everyone. It is a fundamental human right.

I've spent the better part of my career in politics and public policy working on and fighting for education reforms.

The public education landscape is enriched by having many options - neighborhood public schools, magnet schools, community schools, schools that focus on career and technical education, and even charter schools.

For me, the labor movement and public education are linked as the essential building blocks to a strong middle class and a path to the American dream. It's why I went to Cornell's School of Industrial and Labor Relations as an undergrad and then to law school.