Lois Capps: “I rise today to commend and highlight the wonderful education framework called Character Counts. I am very proud of the…”

“I rise today to commend and highlight the wonderful education framework called Character Counts. I am very proud of the Santa Barbara YMCA and the Santa Barbara county education programs in my district that support this important framework which promotes civil responsibility through the following six pillars. The first pillar is called ``trustworthiness.'' This program teaches children and young adults the value of reliability, honesty, loyalty and the courage to do the right thing. It is followed in sequence by a pillar named ``respect.'' Respect encourages students to treat others with the same kind of tolerance of differences and consideration that they would wish to be treated themselves. It is never too early to begin to teach that framework that is centered around respect for one's self and respect for others. The third pillar in the framework called Character Counts is titled ``responsibility,'' which teaches young people to consider the consequences of their actions and to be accountable for the choices that they make. Again, the earlier we can begin to both model and teach ways to make choices which lead to good consequences for a young person's life, the better the results can be for them and for those with whom they associate.”