III

105TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. CON. RES. 89

Expressing the sense of the Congress that the Nation must place greater

emphasis on helping young Americans to develop habits of good character

that are essential to their own well-being and to that of our communities.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

APRIL 3, 1998

Mr. FRIST submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was referred

to the Committee on Labor and Human Resources

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION

Expressing the sense of the Congress that the Nation must

place greater emphasis on helping young Americans to

develop habits of good character that are essential to

their own well-being and to that of our communities.

Whereas the future of our Nation and world will be determined by the young people of today;

Whereas record levels of youth crime, violence, teenage pregnancy, and substance abuse indicate a growing moral crisis in our society;

Whereas a recent poll of teachers found that 45 percent of

all students cheat on tests;

Whereas character development is the long-term process of

helping young people to know, care about, and act upon

such basic values as trustworthiness, respect for self and
2

•SCON 89 IS

others, responsibility, fairness, compassion, and citizenship;

Whereas these values are universal, reaching across cultural

and religious differences;

Whereas a recent poll found that 90 percent of Americans

support the teaching of core moral and civic values;

Whereas parents will always be children’s primary character

educators;

Whereas good moral character is developed best in the context of the family;

Whereas parents, community leaders, and school officials are

establishing successful partnerships across the Nation to

implement character education programs;

Whereas character education programs also ask parents, faculty, and staff to serve as role models of core values, to

provide opportunities for young people to apply these values, and to establish high academic standards that challenge students to set high goals, work to achieve them,

and persevere in spite of difficulty;

Whereas the development of virtue and moral character,

those habits of mind, heart, and spirit that help young

people to know, desire, and do what is right, has historically been a primary mission of colleges and universities;

Whereas in recent years the emphasis on developing the

moral character of students has steadily declined in our

colleges and universities as students are increasingly

viewed as consumers in the marketplace rather than citizens participating in a democracy;

Whereas print resources that recognize colleges and universities according to emphasis of character development as
3

•SCON 89 IS

an essential component of higher education are available

to students, parents, and high school counselors;

Whereas many of these resources are available in public

libraries and in public and private high schools across the

Nation; and

Whereas the Congress encourages parents, faculty, and staff

across the Nation to emphasize character development in

the home, in the community, in our schools, and in our

colleges and universities: Now, therefore, be it

1 Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives

2 concurring), That the Congress supports and encourages

3 character building initiatives in schools across America

4 and urges colleges and universities to affirm that the

5 development of character is one of the primary goals of

6 higher education.

Æ