[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 147 (2001), Part 14]
[Senate]
[Pages 19618-19620]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                     NATIONAL CHARACTER COUNTS WEEK

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Judiciary 
Committee be discharged from further consideration of H. Con. Res. 204 
and the Senate proceed to its immediate consideration.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The clerk will report the concurrent resolution by title.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       A concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 204) expressing the 
     sense of Congress regarding

[[Page 19619]]

     the establishment of National Character Counts Week.

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the 
concurrent resolution.
  Mr. DODD. Mr. President, I rise in support of the resolution 
introduced by myself and my friend and colleague from New Mexico, 
Senator Domenici, to establish National Character Counts Week. This 
resolution has passed during each of the last four Congresses with 
broad, bi-partisan support. This year, in addition to Senator Domenici 
and myself, the resolution has 45 co-sponsors, divided almost equally 
between Democrats and Republicans. This resolution passed the House on 
September 24, 2001, and we hope that it will pass the Senate today by 
unanimous consent.
  Our schools may be built with the bricks of reading and math, and 
science and history, but bricks need mortar, and character is that 
mortar in our children's education. Dr. Martin Luther King exhorted us 
to judge each other not by the color of our skin, but by the content of 
our character. We must do all that we can to help families and schools 
ensure that the character of which Dr. King spoke is sound.
  That is why Senator Domenici and I supported grants for character 
education partnerships in the Elementary and Secondary Education Act in 
1994, and again this year. That is why we have been so pleased by the 
President's support for character education. And, that is why we urge 
our colleagues in the Senate to support this resolution today.
  Character education provides students a context within which to 
learn. If we view education simply as imparting cold facts to our 
children, then we will miss a critical opportunity to develop the 
character of future generations. Character education must be part of a 
seamless garment of learning.
  For example, at Waterford High School, in Connecticut, math students 
designed an access ramp for children and others who use wheelchairs. 
The students learned about math, but also about caring and inclusion.
  At Butler Elementary School, in Groton, CT, principals and teachers 
developed the Respect Every Day program. The program is not an 
additional required subject. Rather, it is a part of every subject. 
And, in Enfield, Connecticut, at Prudence Crandall Elementary School, 
teachers use the Teaching Children to Get Along program, which teaches 
students to treat others with courtesy, and to be assertive, but not 
angry, when dealing with problems such as bullying and teasing.
  The Connecticut Department of Education, on behalf of many state 
organizations, has issued a Call to Action letter, outlining a program 
to improve the school climate in Connecticut schools. And, the 
Connecticut Education Association has developed its own character 
education program that teaches kids about not bullying and other 
behaviors that can disrupt schools and make it difficult for children 
to learn.
  Just last week, there was a wonderful article in the Washington Post, 
about Mt. Rainier Elementary School, in Maryland, only a few miles from 
the Capitol. At Mt. Rainier, the theme of peace is woven throughout the 
curriculum, and is central to the school's effort to teach children to 
be responsible for their actions and to respect themselves, fellow 
students, and adults.
  A banner over the school entrance reads ``Mt. Rainier: A Peaceful 
School.'' Each week, students learn a different word for peace, often 
it is the word for peace in a foreign language, teaching students that 
peace must be universal. And, students are rewarded for good behavior. 
Last year, the school celebrated 160 consecutive Peace Days--a Peace 
Day is a day without a fight--with a parade, complete with a marching 
band, banners, and a cheering crowd. There's an old line that football 
coaches get paid more than teachers, because people don't come to watch 
teachers teach--but, apparently, that's not true at Mt. Rainier.
  Mt. Rainier's message, and the message of character education 
generally, is more important now, than ever. Mt. Rainier's principal, 
Phil Catania, said that he and his staff want to make sure that 
whatever is happening on the outside, Mt. Rainier is a place where 
children can be safe and happy, and learn that anger and violence need 
not win out in the end.
  A month ago, that would have been about the difference between what 
happens in school and what happens in some of the children's 
neighborhoods. Tragically, today, it also is about the terrible attacks 
on New York, the Pentagon, and Pennsylvania. Principal Catania also has 
said that he thinks that Mt. Rainier's program is helping students cope 
with those events.
  So, I urge my colleagues to support this resolution, to encourage 
parents, schools, and communities to make character education a part of 
their children's daily lives, so that their children, like those in 
Connecticut, and Mt. Rainier, MD, and around our country, can serve as 
beacons of hope in troubled times, and act to end troubled times, as 
well.
  Mr. DOMENICI. Mr. President, I rise today with my friend, Senator 
Dodd, to applaud the passage of a concurrent resolution regarding 
National Character Counts Week, H. Con. Res. 204.
  I would also like to thank Congressmen Lamar Smith and Bobby Scott 
for all of their hard work and leadership on this issue.
  The resolution says the week of October 15 through 21 of this year, 
and October 14 through 20 of next year, will be known across the 
country as ``National Character Counts Week.''
  I am pleased with our timing because just this past January, I 
listened with great pleasure to President Bush's inaugural address, as 
he basically ticked off the tenants of good character underscoring 
American life. The President's speech was clearly a message about 
character and its importance in American life.
  In his speech, the President touched on many of the elements of good 
character. I found it especially telling when the President emphasized 
the necessity of teaching every child these principles and the duty of 
every citizen to uphold these very same principles.
  Ironically, nearly a century ago another President, Theodore 
Roosevelt, said the following about character: ``Character, in the long 
run, is the decisive factor in the life of an individual and of nations 
alike.''
  I would submit that character truly does transcend time as well as 
religious, cultural, political, and socio-economic barriers.
  I believe President Bush's renewed focus on character sends a 
wonderful message to Americans, and will help those of us involved in 
character education reinvigorate our efforts to get communities and 
schools involved.
  I say that because a number of years ago we started this approach to 
character education called ``Character Counts.'' Senators Nunn, Dodd 
and I first introduced the resolution that has now passed the Senate on 
innumerable occasions. The resolution simply declares that for all of 
America, one week during the year will be known as ``National Character 
Counts Week.''
  Frankly, we hear a lot about how we should help our young people 
growing up in this often difficult society, However, I believe the key 
is finding those ideas and programs that work.
  We all understand that there are certain people who have the primary 
responsibility to care for our children like mothers, fathers, 
siblings, and grandparents. We are not in any way talking about 
negating that responsibility of raising a child with good values.
  However, we have found the teachers in our schools have been yearning 
for something they could teach our children that for some reason had 
been eliminated from both the public and private school agenda 
curriculum. It is sometimes referred to as character education.
  I choose to speak about the ``Character Counts'' program that is 
being used in many public schools in our country, and certainly in my 
State of New Mexico where teachers embrace six pillars of character.
  The values comprising the Six Pillars are everyday concepts that 
Americans across this land wish their children

[[Page 19620]]

would have and hope America will keep. They are simply: 
trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring, and 
citizenship. They transcend political and social barriers and are 
central to the ideals on which this Nation was built.
  As a matter of fact, I think they are central and basic to any nation 
that survives for any long period of history. As Plato once said:

       A country without character is a country that's doomed and 
     the only way a country can have character is if the 
     individual citizens in the country have character.

  I could speak for all of my allotted time on the 200,000 New Mexico 
schoolchildren in public, private and parochial schools learning about 
good character. About 90 percent of the grade school children, and a 
significant portion of the others, are now participating in character 
education programs that simply and profoundly bring them into contact 
with each of these Pillars one month at a time.
  So if you walk the halls of a grade school in Albuquerque, you might 
see a sign outside that says, ``This Is Responsibility Month.'' And all 
the young people will be discussing the concept of responsibility in 
their classrooms, and they will put up posters saying, ``Responsibility 
Counts.''
  At the end of that month they may have an assembly where 
responsibility will be discussed by all the kids, and awards will be 
given to those demonstrating the most responsibility. The next month it 
might be ``respect.'' The month after that it might be ``caring.''
  I would submit the concept is working wherever it is being tried. A 
good example can be seen in the changes that occurred at the Garfield 
Middle School in Albuquerque. The 570 students at Garfield received 
their first lessons on the Six Pillars in October of 1994.
  During the first 20 days of that school year, there were 91 recorded 
incidents of physical violence. One year later, during the same period, 
there were 26 such incidents. I believe this remarkable difference is 
evidence that students do respond to Character Counts.
  In New Mexico, the Character Counts movement has spread from the 
classroom to the boardroom. Recently, a group of business professionals 
resolved to explore ways to implement the Six Pillars in all their 
business relationships in an effort to spread these values throughout 
the community.
  Through their efforts, parents have an opportunity to participate in 
Character Counts along side their kids, thereby reinforcing lessons 
learned in school. Promoting the Six Pillars at work also improves 
productivity and morale on the job, and it pays incalculable dividends 
in job and customer satisfaction.
  I could go on for quite some time talking about Character Counts in 
New Mexico. The bottom line is that I believe it is working in New 
Mexico and other parts of the country.
  Consequently, I think we need to salute the efforts already underway 
and encourage even more character education across our country.
  So today, Senator Dodd and I are here to applaud the passage of the 
resolution and hopefully our renewed effort will bring together even 
more communities to ensure that character education is a part of every 
child's life.
  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the concurrent 
resolution and preamble be agreed to en bloc, the motion to reconsider 
be laid upon the table, and that any statements relating thereto be 
printed in the Record.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 204) was agreed to.
  The preamble was agreed to.

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