Right Choices for Youth Conference

I want to thank Joe McIlhaney for the incredible amount of work he put into this, the foundations of Texas, and corporate Texas for helping to sponsor this event. I want to thank all the speakers who took time out of their day to come to Texas. Most of all I want to thank you all for coming.

You and I are here because we believe in the bright potential of every Texas child. I see a country that is coming that is one of unbelievable opportunity and prosperity. I am confident our economy is going to be strong, so long as we have free and fair trade, low taxes, reasonable regulations, and limited government.

I am optimistic our children's lives are going to improve—in material terms. The risk in the 21st Century, the risk for Texas children, is that their moral and spiritual lives will not improve. This concerns me, and I know it concerns you as well, because I believe that the strength of a society is not measured by its wealth or only by its technology; the strength of society must be measured by the values its people share.

All of us are here today because we know society must do a better job at teaching values. Our children need the strong foundation of values to make the right choices in life and to achieve their greatest potential.

A good place to start—at least for a governor—is to make sure that they have the best public schools in America. That's a good place to start.

We are making great progress in Texas. And Mike I thank you for your leadership. I want to thank all the teachers who are here. Teaching is a noble profession. It's a hard line of work. I remember reading about my predecessor Sam Houston. You may remember Houston was the governor of two states, he was the president of the Texas Republic, he was a United States senator, and one of his friends once asked him, "What was the most meaningful thing you have done in your life, Sam?" And he said, "Teaching." To the teachers, thanks for what you are doing. And to the principals and school superintendents—we are making great progress in Texas schools.

I am really proud, as I know you are. National scores have shown that we are leading the nation along with North Carolina when it comes to improving our schools. (According to a November 1998 report card from the National Education Goals Panel, both Texas and North Carolina lead the nation in student achievement gains, because they changed the structure of education to align high standards, a rigorous curriculum, and standardized tests that hold schools accountable for improvement by all students.)

We are doing great, because we believe in high standards and high expectations and high hopes. We believe in the best for every child in our state and we trust local folks to chart the path to excellence. In the state of Texas, I am convinced, we are doing well because we measure. Not only do we set high standards, but we measure to determine whether or not our schools are meeting the standards.

I don't know if you remember, but nearly five years ago when I was first elected, there were so many goals in public schools in Texas, there were no goals. There were something like 33 stated objectives in our school system. This meant there really weren't any, when you think about it. Now we've got four: excellence in English, Math, Science and Social Science. Excellence for every child in those four subjects.

A couple years ago, I was reading accountability statistics. Mike and I were flying out to Lubbock, and we were looking at the reading scores and it was apparent the greatest state in the United States was missing the mission, because our children couldn't read. So if you may remember, I hope you have heard by now, we have got a new goal in Texas: Every single child, every child, no excuses, should be reading at grade level by the third grade and remain at the appropriate grade level throughout his or her entire public school career.

I remember when I laid out the initiative some people in the press corps said, "Sounds a little obvious." I said, "What's obvious is we're failing the mission." We rewrote curriculum in Texas. Phonics is now an integral part of the Texas curriculum. Because of foundations in Texas, we are retraining teachers how to teach the new curriculum. And, Chris, I want to thank you for that and others as well.

For the first time, incredibly enough, we've got a K through two diagnostic tool available for elementary school teachers to determine who needs help. It's hard to believe that in 1998 we finally got a K through two diagnostic tool. But how do you know unless you know who needs help?

So, I want to take our reading initiative and our education initiative a step further. Last year, in the state of Texas 38,000 people failed the third grade reading test. 38,000 and guess what happened to them? They went to fourth grade. That means somebody has got low hopes and low standards, and low expectations—which is the exact opposite of what everybody in this room has for the children of Texas, obviously, otherwise you wouldn't be here.

I believe we need to end the practice of socially promoting Texas students. I think we need to identify who needs help early. I think we need to start with children in kindergarten next year and say if you need help we are going to give it to you today, before it's too late because, in the state of Texas, we refuse to leave any child behind in Texas.

I've got a friend in the Houston ISD. She's the reading Czarina and she said something pretty interesting—Phyllis Hunter said, "Governor, reading is the new civil right." And she's right. Part of helping the children of Texas understand the vast potential and opportunity of the 21st Century is to teach our children to read and write and add and subtract. And that is exactly what is going to happen in this great state of Texas.

But, it is not just enough to teach reading and writing and math and science. That's just not enough. Our children must be educated in the values of a civil society. We must teach them right from wrong and good from bad.

Many of the major threats to our children today are not a matter of chance, but are a matter of choice. Choices like drinking and driving, smoking, drugs, early sex, and dropping out of school.

We now know that kids who engage in one risky behavior are more likely to participate in others, so we must convince youngsters to resist opening that Pandora's box - not just to avoid death or disease, but to embrace a life that is physically and morally and emotionally healthy.

As our expert speakers have emphasized today, there are many ways to influence children's choices. In Texas, as Bill mentioned, we are focusing on five key areas what I call the Lone Star Leader program.

These monies are to be used for such things as after-school programs and mentoring programs. I can't think of a better program than this, and I will never forget when I went to Big Brothers and Big Sisters in Dallas. This is a place full of love and caring. A fantastic program. Big Brothers and Big Sisters works. And we need to enhance programs like Big Brothers and Big Sisters all across the great state of Texas.

Early childhood development and family connectedness ably run and initiated and quarterbacked by the great First Lady of the State of Texas; expanded citizenship and character education; and, finally, we have an aggressive $5 million-a-year abstinence program to teach young people that the rewards of abstinence far outweigh the risks of sex.

With the twin epidemics of teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases, our children must know that abstinence isn't just saying no to sex, abstinence is saying yes to a happier and healthier life.

Dr. Bussey so succinctly put it this way to me in my office: Abstinence is 100 percent safe, 100 percent effective, 100 percent of the time. And she is right.

The Right Choices campaign is part of a much larger effort, and that is changing today's culture - a culture which has clearly said, "If it feels good, do it, and if you've got a problem, blame somebody else."

We've heard today the warning signs of our failed culture are everywhere in the state of Texas. Incredibly enough we've got men and boys who father children, and simply walk away saying, "Hey, man, they're not my problem. They're yours."

We have got a third of the babies born out of wedlock in the state of Texas. And as I have said a hundred times, we are going to love the babies. We love the babies in Texas. But we want our young girls to understand that in order to realize the potential of the 21st Century, having a baby out of wedlock is the wrong decision to make. The toughest job in Texas, the toughest job in Texas is to be a single woman, working hard to raise children. Drugs are destroying our neighborhoods and alcohol is ruining lives.

My dream is to usher in what I like to call the responsibility era, an era which says clearly each of us is responsible for the decisions we make in life - that Laura and I are responsible for raising our teenage girls. War is hell. Each of us is responsible for our families but there is something called corporate responsibility in the state of Texas. The responsibility era means that corporate Texas must be responsible for their employees and responsible for clean air and clean water. And each of us is responsible for the community in which we live.

Government can help usher in the responsibility era. We can pass laws like we have done with our juvenile justice code. The old code used to say if you commit a crime it is not your fault, it is our fault. The new code recognizes that discipline and love go hand in hand. Our new juvenile justice code says there will be bad consequences for bad behavior in the state of Texas. We want you to understand you are responsible for the decisions you make in life. It's called tough love. That's the tough part. But the false hope of the last 30 years is that government can make people love one another. That just can't happen. Love comes from the hearts and souls of decent, caring human beings.

I know when we think about the statistics of today, it is depressing to some.

But I am an incurable optimist. You see, I have seen the culture change once in my lifetime, so I know, I know it can change again. And I don't mean backward, but I mean forward to a better day. And each of us can help lead the way. Each of us can do our part. You see, one person cannot do everything. I know that. But one person can do something.

I am optimistic. Remember this irrefutable fact that cultures can change one act of decency, one act of compassion at a time.

We've got a lot of big-hearted people in the state of Texas. If cultures change because of love and caring, we are going to change the culture in this state, because we have got a lot of loving and caring people that are helping change our state. You in this room are helping change our state one heart, one soul, and one conscience at a time.

Many have heard the call, but many need to act. Just like the time the preacher got up and was giving a sermon. Halfway through the sermon a guy popped up on the front row and said, "Use me, Lord, use me!" The Preacher ignored the guy and went on and finished his sermon. One week later, same pulpit, same church, not the same sermon, but a different one, and the same guy pops up and screams, "Use me, Lord, use me!" After the service is over the preacher says to the fella, "Fine I'll use you. The Lord wants you to paint and scrape all the pews in the chapel" Next Sunday, this guy's giving the sermon, and half-way through the fella stands up and yells, "Use me, Lord, use me! But in an advisory capacity."

We have got plenty of advisors. What we need is more doers in Texas. My job is to rouse the drill sergeants in the little armies of compassion all across our state of Texas.

I know and you know every day adults help create little moral communities -- at the little league or YMCA after school programs, or in classrooms or in ballet classes. And while we are teaching kids how to pitch and swim and study and pirouette, we can teach them larger lessons: right choices and the bedrock values that have stood the test of time- values like love your neighbor like you'd like to be loved yourself. Give an honest day's work for an honest day's wages. Do not lie. Do not cheat. Do not steal. Respect others. Respect their opinions. Respect their property. And always remember it is you who is responsible for the decisions you make in life.

As we head into the 21st century there is another lesson we must remember: and that is the best place to teach values is in the home.

I think it is important for every one of us—those of us with fancy titles and those of us who are untitled in life—to remember that the most important job, by far the most important job or title you will ever have is Dad or Mom. It is a lesson we must all remember as we head into the heady times of the 21st Century.

This is going to be a great time of challenge and opportunity, but you know something, I know we are going to succeed. I know, as sure as I am standing here. I know we can change the culture, and I know we can have a more compassionate tomorrow. Our country's most glorious moments have come in times when our world seemed uncertain and spiritually adrift.

But we are not alone, we're not alone. Guided by the fixed stars of our faith and our national soul, I know we will rise to the challenge and create a better day for our children, and for our state and for our country, and for our future.

I am honored you came. Thank you for caring. Thank you for being a part of the armies of compassion of the great state of Texas. God bless you all.