Monday, February 25, 2013

Building good citizens

Radio Commentary



To build good citizens, good character, and good discipline among our young people, we need to have high expectations for every student.  
We must teach students the skills they need in order to contribute in an ever-changing global economy. 
Though teen drug use has been leveling off, and in some cases even decreasing, for several decades, it is still far too high. Drugs still ravage too many young bodies and destroy too many futures.
We need to give young people many opportunities to say “yes” to learning and most particularly to say “yes” to living a safe and drug-free lifestyle.
Television and computer games are also things we must deal with as adults.
The average child spends 40 hours a week in front of the television or computer screen. That’s 40 missed hours of reading, playing the guitar, sharing a hobby, or getting extra help with a hard subject in school.  
It’s 40 missed hours of living and learning.  Over a young lifetime that’s far too many days to lose.
Let’s take some of that time to give our children something far better to do.  
Let’s make sure all homework assignments come first, and that reading for pleasure is encouraged and rewarded.
Let’s make sure that wholesome activities are also rewarded and encouraged: sports of all sorts, music lessons or performances, and recreational activities with friends and family. 
Let’s make sure we talk more to each other and involve our young people in the details of family life. That’s what makes for healthy lifestyles.