February 12, 1998

Mr. President, I am pleased this morning to join with the distinguished Senator from New Mexico and a group of my colleagues in cosponsoring this Senate Resolution designating October 18th through 24th as National Character Counts Week.

Nothing that we do in this country will have a more direct impact on our collective future than how we educate our children. And as the face of our society changes, and children are faced with modern problems like illegal drug use and violence, we should look at ways to expand our traditional definition of education. We must recognize that education should be more than the transmission off acts. It ought to be more than the relaying of concepts. Education should also seek to develop the moral character of our children. Schools need to reinforce the lessons that children are taught at home. Education must help teach young people what they need to know to be good citizens in our society. Strengthening the mind is not enough. We must also nurture the character.

That is why so many of us in the Senate come to the Floor each year to speak in support of character education in our schools. We believe that it is entirely appropriate for schools to instruct students on the importance of qualities like trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring, and citizenship. This is not a substitute for disciplined instruction in reading, math, composition, and other subjects. This is simply an effort to instill in our young people the values that we cherish in a civil society.

I have been working on character education issues for about 5 years now, and all of my experiences with this initiative have reinforced my belief that this is a good idea that can have a positive impact in the lives of our children. In 1994, I Introduced a character education amendment to the elementary and secondary education bill when it was being considered by the Labor Committee. This amendment was adopted, and it provided funding for schools to start character education curriculums.

Over the past few years, I have had the pleasure of visiting schools in Connecticut that have received some of these funds and begun teaching character education. In each and every classroom, I have seen the positive impact that these programs are having in our children's lives. Children, as well as teachers and parents, are responding enthusiastically to these lessons, and the result has been better attendance, higher academic performance, and improved behavior among our students. Character education may be a relatively new initiative, but these programs are already reaching 100,000 students in the State of Connecticut alone. And character education is not only making a difference in my home State, but all over the country as many of my colleagues can confirm.

Theodore Roosevelt once said, "To educate a person's mind and not his character is to educate a menace." It is imperative that we build a society whose institutions will help support a strong ethical upbringing for our children, and character education should be a critical component of our efforts to reach that goal.

Again, I commend my friend and colleague from New Mexico for all of his work in this area. And I invite all my colleagues from both sides of the aisle to join us in supporting National Character Counts week and embracing character education as a vital means of molding better individual, strengthening families and creating a responsible American citizenry.