[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 30, Number 42 (Monday, October 24, 1994)]
[Pages 2037-2038]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Proclamation 6743--National Character Counts Week, 1994

October 14, 1994

By the President of the United States

of America

A Proclamation

    Our concern about character and ethics is one of the great strengths 
of our Nation. In 1994, America celebrates the continuing creation of 
and support for programs that, by definition, are character-building--
from our proud military units and law enforcement groups to our new 
National Service program, AmeriCorps. As we seek to instill important 
values in a new generation of Americans, we must redouble our efforts to 
improve student learning, responsibility, and sense of belonging. We 
must revitalize the American ideal of community if our schools are to 
achieve their full potential. Adults, children, teachers--all of us must 
set an example. All of us can make a new beginning.
    Schools need to emphasize the fundamentals: building character and 
creating a stronger sense of self-worth. The process of building moral 
values begins with the family, and

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we must all aid parents by demonstrating to our young people that hard 
work, honesty, and responsibility are essential in all of our endeavors. 
Passage of the ``Goals 2000: Educate America Act'' will, in the years 
ahead, give parents, teachers, and concerned citizens in every local 
school district the opportunity to come together to define what they 
want their schools to achieve for their children, not just through high 
academic standards, but also through setting high standards of 
compassion, understanding, and community involvement. New civic 
standards addressing the entire community, in addition to voluntary 
national standards, will serve as catalysts in this process, helping to 
better educate students to be more responsible citizens in the years to 
come.
    To recognize the importance of character and to focus national 
attention on character building, the Congress, by Public Law 103-301, 
has designated October 16 through October 22, 1994, as ``National 
Character Counts Week'' and has authorized and requested the President 
to issue a proclamation in observance of this commemoration.
    Now, Therefore, I, William J. Clinton, President of the United 
States of America, do hereby proclaim October 16 through October 22, 
1994 as National Character Counts Week. I call upon the people of the 
United States, government officials, educators, and volunteers, to 
observe this week with appropriate programs, ceremonies, and activities.
    In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this fourteenth day 
of October, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and ninety-four, 
and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred 
and nineteenth.
                                            William J. Clinton

[Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 1:40 p.m., October 19, 
1994]

Note: This proclamation was released by the Office of the Press 
Secretary on October 15, and it was published in the Federal Register on 
October 21.