President Speaks at White House Conference on Character and Community
The East Room
3:30 P.M. EDT
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you all. Well, thanks for that warm
welcome. Welcome to your house. (Laughter.) We're glad you're here.
And I really appreciate the theme of this conference and the importance
of the conference.
I know you've heard from some really impressive people, and I want
to thank all the speakers and students who are here. You even heard
from a member of my family, and I want to thank the First Lady for
doing such a great job and being so patient with the President.
(Applause.)
The thing I appreciate is that you understand education should
prepare children for jobs, and it also should prepare our children for
life. I join you in wanting our children to not only be rich in
skills, but rich in ideals. Teaching character and citizenship to our
children is a high calling. It's a really high calling. And I'm
grateful for your work.
I appreciate Secretary of Education Rod Paige. Mr. Secretary,
thanks -- thanks for joining on this important cause. You know, here
in Washington there's a lot of people who are good on theory and not so
good on action. So when I picked a man to be the head of the --
Secretary of Education, I wanted somebody who had been on the front
lines. Rod had been the superintendent of the Houston Independent
School District, and I figured that's a pretty good definition of front
lines. (Laughter.) And he had done a great job -- Mr. Secretary,
and I appreciate your concern and care.
I understand Colin Powell spoke here earlier. I'm -- right after
this brief speech, he and I have a meeting. He is doing a fabulous job
for our country, too. I'm proud to call him a member of our team.
I appreciate Michelle Engler and Hope Taft for being here. Thank
you both for coming. I know you all are very much involved in your
state of Michigan and Ohio for not only making sure every child can
read, but teaching children the difference between right and wrong.
I appreciate the members of Congress who are here -- Wamp, Lucas,
Edwards, McIntyre and Moore. Thank you all for coming. My
Congressman -- as you know, I'm a voting resident of Crawford, Texas.
My Congressman Chet Edwards is here. I appreciate you answering my
mail, Mr. Congressman. (Laughter.) I won't write you if you don't
write me. (Laughter.)
I believe that public schools are the most important institutions
in democracy. And a good education is the birthright of every American
child. Every public school must be the pathway to a better life. And
because public schools are America's great hope, making them work for
every child is our nation's greatest duty.
We passed good education reform here in Washington, D.C. This
wasn't a Republican bill, it wasn't a Democrat bill, it was an American
bill. It really was. We worked together to get a good piece of
legislation out. Here are the principles. It says, every child can
learn. In other words, we believe in high standards. I'm one of these
fellows that believes if you lower the bar, you get lousy results. If
you believe in the best and raise the bar, you can get high standards.
It also says that if you receive money from the federal government,
you must show us whether or not children are learning to read and write
and add and subtract. For the first time, the federal government is
asking the question, is every child learning? I don't mean a few
children; I don't mean a group of children -- I mean, is every child
learning to read and write and add and subtract. And if we aren't, we
must correct problems early, before it's too late.
In other words, we've had high standards, we demand excellence,
we're willing to challenge failure to make sure that not one single
child is left behind. And I firmly believe the reforms we put in
place, when fully enacted, will make sure that no child is left behind
in America.
It is more than -- we've got to do more than just teach our
children skills and knowledge. That's one part of education, and it's
an important part, no question about it. We also want to make sure
they're kind and decent, compassionate and responsible, honest and
self-disciplined. Our children must learn to make a living, but even
more, they must learn how to live. And that's a big responsibility.
But I love what Martin Luther King Jr. said about this. He said,
"Intelligence is not enough. Intelligence plus character, that is the
goal of true education." And I want to thank you for joining that true
goal of education.
Americans believe in character education because we want more for
our children than apathy or cynicism. We've got higher aspirations for
every child in America. We want them to understand the difference
between right and wrong. We want them to live lives of integrity and
idealism. Family is the first place where these values are learned.
Our parents expect schools to be allies in the moral education of our
children. That's what they expect, and that's what we must give them.
The lessons of the home must be reinforced by high standards in our
schools. Schools should be safe and orderly; they should be decent and
drug-free; and they should teach character by expecting character.
They should be places where rules are set and, as importantly, where
rules are enforced. And schools should also teach the basics of
character to children. This is why we tripled the funding for
character education in the budget I submitted to Congress.
Now, I know there's a debate about values and character. I've
heard it before -- as you might remember, I was the governor of a
great state at one time. I've heard every excuse why we shouldn't
teach character. It always starts with religion, as to why we
shouldn't teach character. Well, look, we should never promote a
particular religion, I agree. That's not the -- that's not the
reason to have character education.
But we've got to recognize in our society that strong values are
shared by good people of different faiths, and good people who have no
faith at all. These are universal values, values we share in all our
diversity: Respect, tolerance, responsibility, honesty,
self-restraint, family commitment, civic duty, fairness and
compassion. These are the moral landmarks that guide a successful
life. And we should teach them with confidence and we should teach
them with conviction.
There are many good programs around the country that show how
values can be taught in a diverse nation. I want to thank you for
sharing your wisdom on those programs. As a matter of fact, one of the
useful functions of the Department of Education is to serve as a
clearinghouse for good ideas, as a place where people can come and ask
the question, what works? What can I do to make a difference in
somebody's lives.
There are schools in our country where children take pledges each
morning to be respectful, responsible and ready to learn -- it's an
interesting idea -- where virtues are taught by studying the great
historical figures and characters in literature; and where
consideration is encouraged and good manners are expected.
I think it's safe to say we're making progress in America. We're
not ashamed to teach values. We recognize the importance of
character. And I want to thank you all for joining here to figure out
how we can do more and how we can make a continued difference in the
lives of our children. One goal of character education should be to
prepare our children for community service. This conference, I
understand, is focusing on community service for a good reason --
helping somebody else gives purpose and meaning in life.
I think it's particularly important in a day and age where some
question the value system of America that we teach people to serve a
neighbor -- people to love a neighbor like they'd like to be loved
themselves. There's a question in our society as to whether or not
we're so self-absorbed and materialistic that we won't fulfill our
obligations as a nation.
That's not the America I know, and the America I believe exists.
I've seen an amazing America since September the 11th -- people who
recognize that serving something greater than yourself in life is an
incredibly important part of life; that while -- focus on the stock
market is, I guess, okay, but there's something more in life than just
profit in loss; that somebody can profit in life by caring for a
neighbor. I like to tell people, if you're interested in helping to
define America, to show a side of America the world may not see, do
some good, help somebody in need. And that needs to be taught to our
children early in live.
I gave a speech at The Ohio State University -- thank you for
inviting me, Hope. And I was pleased to see that 70 percent of the
graduating class of Ohio State University had at one time or another
volunteered, one time or another served something greater than
themselves. Perhaps the culture is changing, from one that has said,
if it feels good, just go ahead and do it, and if you've got a problem,
blame somebody else, to a culture in which each of us are responsible
for the decisions we make in life -- responsible for loving our
children, responsible for loving our neighbors, responsible for serving
a nation by helping somebody in need.
The poet William Wordsworth wrote this. He said, "What we have
loved, others will love, and we'll teach them how." And that's what
you all are here to discuss today. On behalf of a grateful nation,
thank you for teaching them how. May God bless you all, and may God
bless America. (Applause.)