Character should be taught at home

But there is more to character than what comes to mind. Character is something that makes us who we are. It can determine if people want to be around us and it is one thing that even the most open-minded people will judge.

Respect, loyalty, truthfulness and compassion are parts of a movement that is teaching character in public schools.

It is pathetic that character has to be taught in schools today. That used to be the job of parents. Or maybe churches and scout troops.

But it seems that with parents so busy today, they have neglected to teach their children fundamental behavior. Perhaps it is not entirely their fault.

In this break-neck, fast-paced society we obviously count on parents to instill these values in their children, so we have to turn to someone else.

With the continuing spiral of morality and character in this country, we are fortunate to have schools that realize the need to teach the fundamental character.

But is it really worth it? In this world of cocaine using city council members, teachers who give private sex education lessons to 13-year-olds and gun-toting teenagers, wouldn't it make sense to teach ethics and character at home?

You never know what other people are doing in their spare time. How can we trust our schoolteachers to build character in our children when we don't know anything about them other than they have a degree or a credential and passed a drug test?