Related Resources Press Release Presidential Proclamation

Happy 10th Anniversary. Congratulations on a landmark achievement. I commend all of you for a decade of service. The development of a culture of character is crucial to the well-being of our nation.

For this great nation to sustain its prominence, we must do a better job educating our children. But we must teach them more than reading and math, we must also teach them the values upon which this nation was built.

Thanks to the leadership of President Bush, the Department of Education is committed to both.

There is a dire need for Character Education Partnership. Our educational system is in grave peril. Many of our students graduate with insufficient skills in reading and mathematics. In recent weeks a series of studies confirms we have a two-tiered educational system - a great system for some, a failing system for others.

But that is only part of the story. We are also failing to foster good character. We face formidable forces: music, movies, the arts, and culture itself teach our students to prize greed, celebrity, indifference, disregard, and violence.

In some schools, gangsta rap and criminal deeds are tolerated, even allowed to replace education itself. We have to teach tolerance. But we do not have to tolerate the absence of positive values.

We have to remind our students of a lesson taught in Ancient Greece: the character of the person is the primary product of education. Good character is the product of good judgments made every day. Good character is a reflection of someone with good judgment, seeking wisdom, acting virtuously. Good character becomes the second nature of the person who values truth, wisdom, hard work, compassion, empathy, and enlightenment. In Plato's time, the word "character" meant something like "the mark, the stamp or the impression on the person." When the educational system works well, the best indicator is the character of its students. We see the indelible mark of the school upon the student.

We are fortunate that so many of our students formulate good character in school. Many, but not all. Millions of students are taught the wrong values, or no values at all. So, we have our work cut out for us. We live in a culture of callousness. The result: a staggering achievement gap, poor health status, overweight students, crime, violence, teenage pregnancy, tobacco use, and alcohol use.

I have a particular concern about the lack of positive role models in this culture of callousness. Growing up in my family, we had role models: my father, my teachers, our clergy.

And when I went to school, we had other role models: George Washington Carver, Booker T. Washington, Ralph Bunche, Jesse Owens, and Duke Ellington. Frederick Douglass was a particular role model, because he stressed education and service to others. And my teachers wanted us to know African American history. It was a great history of suffering and accomplishment; we did overcome. These role models made me look for something nobler, higher, and richer. They made me strive for greater achievement. They taught me to look within to find our common humanity.

We need a return to history, to prize our rich history. Dr. Martin Luther King, Mother Theresa, Nelson Mandela, and Abraham Lincoln… these positive role models must take center stage in education. I am concerned about students who find role models in athletes or performers who are in trouble with the law or only serve themselves. Negative role models teach negative values. Callousness breeds callousness.

One important action to teach character is to teach inclusiveness, to prize every life, every student, every person. That is why our educational system itself must teach inclusion in its every act. I credit the President for recognizing this central, cardinal fact. When he first took office in January 2001, President Bush saw an educational system in crisis.

The majority of our students are not proficient in reading, mathematics, or science. The President understood that the system needed more than incremental tweaks or small adjustments; it needed major reform.

The bipartisan, sweeping reforms of President Bush's No Child Left Behind Act created the framework for meaningful change.

No Child Left Behind is a tough law. But it's a good law. It focuses attention on the children who most need our help; but it benefits all children. Thanks to No Child Left Behind, I'm proud to report that all across the country, communities are empowered with the information they need to take action. And they will find that they have more federal funding. The highest federal support in history.

Together, we are working to create an educational system in which students leave school armed with the skills they need to compete in a global society. But still too many leave without the skills they need to live in that society. Dr. Martin Luther King, as usual, said it best, "Intelligence plus character - that is the true goal of education."

We must help students to understand universal values like respect, tolerance, responsibility, honesty, self-restraint, family commitment, civic duty, fairness and compassion.

These are not the values of a particular religion. They are the values shared by all people of character, who are committed to freedom and justice.

No Child Left Behind addresses the need to prepare the next generation for the responsibilities and challenges that always accompany freedom. In this world of complicated problems that require complicated solutions, we must have some bedrock principles to guide sound decisions.

At the Department of Education, to "develop safe schools and strong character" is the third of our six strategic goals. We are dedicated to supporting this endeavor.

President Bush outlined character education as a priority - an integral part of providing a quality education that prepares students for success in life.

In June 2002, the First Lady hosted the "White House Conference on Character and Community." Experts in the field came together to discuss the need for and effectiveness of character education programs.

President Bush said, "Our children must learn to make a living, but even more, they must learn how to live."

This education starts in the family. My parents gave me and my brother and sisters a strong foundation in character. They taught us right from wrong, to respect others, and to always do right, even when no one was looking.

My parents, like most parents, wanted the best for us. Ours is an optimistic and hopeful nation. We want our children to exceed our dreams for them. That requires more than academics.

To provide students the best education, we must first provide an environment that nurtures their education. And that is why Character Education Partnership and the "National Call to Character" is so important.

I applaud your good work. But I know I must do my part. So, earlier this year, I raised the level of the Office of Safe and Drug Free Schools. In this new office, we expanded support for the "Partnerships in Character Education program." This program will provide information about resources and support for character education programs.

As part of his support, President Bush increased funding for character education from $8 million when he first took office to $25 million. This is a President that understands and supports this need.

In the first six years of this program, the Department distributed 46 grants for character education. Thanks to the support in No Child Left Behind, in the last two years alone, the Department has now awarded 47 grants to state and local school districts.

This elevated program office is working to increase awareness of effective and evidence-based programs.

We will establish a "Technical Center for Character Education and Civic Engagement." This center will provide: technical assistance to grantees, a website clearinghouse with answers about resources and support, publications and seminars on effective character education programs, and internal training for Department of Education staff about implementing character education.

We are also offering a reprint of a booklet called "Helping Your Child Become a Responsible Citizen."

Linda McKay is here with us tonight. She has been charged with coordinating the expansion of character education. Linda has worked in partnership with Rita Foy - the director of our Civics Education program - who is also here tonight. I'd like to thank you both for your hard work. Please stand up. Thank you.

We must have programs that are effective. Comprehensive and quality character education is critical. Character education cannot be covered in ten minutes a day. It must be at the heart of the entire education program. Character can't be taught in a course, it is a way of living.

CEP's continued support of "National Schools of Character" is an important contribution. Schools that include a comprehensive and quality character education program offer their students a better chance at success - in school and in life. By honoring these schools, you are setting a North Star for other schools to follow.

We must do all of this and more. We must be steadfast as we work together to prepare the next generation of leaders.

The future is already underway in our schools. It will be written by the next generation of students. How they write the future will depend on their knowledge, opportunities, wisdom, compassion, tolerance, and vision. And it will depend on their character.

Many years ago, a young student at Morehouse College in Atlanta was mentored by the college president. The president's door was always open. This student would drop by and talk for hours. Even if the president was busy, he always had time for this student.

The president was the great educator Benjamin Elijah Mays. He told his student, prepare for the future now. This is a time of greatness. You have a destiny with America. You must look to your mind and your soul. Work hard. Serve others. Liberate our people. And that student listened.

He explored religion, philosophy, history, and literature to prepare himself. He then launched his ministry, to bring freedom to all people, to heal the great divisions in our country. That student was Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. And in his most famous speech, here on the Mall, he asked that we work for a world where we judge each other not on color, but the content of our character.

I believe this partnership carries on his ministry. Every student must prepare for the future by building strong character. We know that character education is foundational for quality education. And education is emancipation. It is freedom itself. Again, I would like to congratulate all of you for a decade of meaningful work. Together, we are working to turn a culture of callousness into a culture that is more caring, compassionate, and tolerant.

Thank you.

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