A r c h i v e d  I n f o r m a t i o n

Let me thank Senator Sarbanes and Congresswoman Morella for being with us. I'm also pleased to see so many educators here, including Superintendent Vance and Principal Marco and the many other elected officials, parents and community leaders-especially the parents and students of Walt Whitman High School. I had the opportunity to hear some of the discussion led by Dr. Kevin Dwyer, who has worked so hard to keep our schools safe, and I thank him for his efforts on behalf of our children.

What brings us to this high school today? For the past week and a half this nation has been shaken by the unspeakable tragedy of Littleton, Colorado. Yesterday, the last of the 13 funerals for the victims was held. All of America has grieved with that community and our hearts continue to go out to the families who have lost their loved ones and the injured students whom we hope and pray are healing.

In this time of tragedy, and as people seek to make sense of what has occurred, let us remember what the people of Littleton, Colorado, have taught us. We have seen a community come together to support and comfort their children.

We have heard the local District Attorney speak from the heart when he said, let it end here-asking America to make something good out of this despicable act. We have watched over 70,000 fellow citizens stand in silence in the rain to mourn with this community.

Above all, we have seen the students, teachers and staff at Columbine High refuse to be broken despite this great suffering. They have been resolute in demonstrating to America that their faith in themselves and in their public school remains unshaken. They have been a shining example to us all and we need to take their example to heart and learn from it.

This coming Monday, the students at Columbine High will start school again and in a few weeks the seniors will graduate. They will surely mourn again on their graduation day, and they will go on to colleges and universities and careers as changed people. But they will go on and so must we. We cannot let the act of two deranged young people damage our entire system of public education that serves our democracy so well.

Montgomery County, like so many communities across America, places a high value on education and schools like Whitman reflect that. You have invested in your schools, you are determined to help all children grow in mind, body and spirit, and the rewards are bountiful.

On balance, America's public schools remain safe. I am always personally shocked when I read the statistics about the number of children who are killed each year. Fortunately, less than one percent of all homicides among school-aged children (five to 19) occur in or around our public schools. This is a credit to the care and vigilance that so many communities take to keep our schools safe. I ask those Americans who look nostalgically back to another time, to stand with us in the present and help us make our schools even safer.

We have always had schoolyard fights but now there is a new level of fear because of these weapons of deadly violence. The fastest way I know to make our schools safer is to stop this culture of violence, this easy access to guns. Let it stop here with the death of these 13 people in Littleton. Senator Chafee, last Tuesday at a press conference with President Clinton, put it this way, "This is not about schools but about guns."

Our schools are safe and they will be a lot safer when we put child locks on guns, when we tighten up the gun show loopholes, and when we restrict handgun sales to people over 21. It appears that two of the guns that were used to kill the students in Littleton were bought at a gun show.

I am a fisherman and I have been a hunter in my day. Let me tell you, you don't need a TEC DC9 automatic weapon to go hunting. You don't need a TEC DC9 automatic to be a man. To the maker of the TEC DC9: Stop trying to get around the law. We do not need this gun in America.

The true man of strength, if he has a gun, is a responsible owner who locks up those guns to protect his children and the rest of his family. There is nothing manly about being careless with a weapon and leaving it around so accidents happen. And accidents do happen every single day of the year and children are dying.

And I will tell you one more thing about guns. The sickest idea I have heard all this week is the proposal to have teachers carry guns. Teachers carry books, lesson plans, and knowledge. On behalf of America's teachers I will tell you now, we do not need another gun in America's schools.

I ask the leaders in the entertainment industry and our expanding Internet industry to step back and think about their responsibilities. Do we really need these violent video games to excite our children in order to gain a profit?

Do you really need that extra violent scene in a movie to make a point? Does every action hero have to wear a long black coat and carry a sawed off shotgun? The prime audience for movies in America today is the impressionable teenager and the key word is impressionable.

I ask all Americans to believe as I do in this generation of young people. We have more young people in our schools than ever before, and we must be hopeful and positive in helping them to come of age in a responsible manner.

Our young people may dress differently and certainly have different musical tastes than most of us but they are not a weird generation or a lost generation. This is an ambitious and striving generation of young people.

Let me read from a new book about America's teenagers entitled, The Ambitious Generation: America's Teenagers, Motivated But Directionless. "The overwhelming majority of teenagers, however, graduate from high school, do not use drugs, are not criminals, and do not father or have babies while still in their teens." The co-author of this book, David Stevenson, who recently passed away suddenly, was for many years a close adviser to me.

In this time of concern and even some fear, we must send our young people a powerful message of hope and security. We will do everything we can to protect you, to listen to you, and to reach out to you so that you feel connected. This is why I ask parents again and again to slow down your lives.

Tune in to your children. I assure you, as the father of four children and the grandfather of ten children, I know that this is not an easy task. Teenage years are difficult. That is a fact of life and every parent of a teenager understands it.

The powerful pull of independence and defining who they are-which is the task of every teenager-can be very difficult for parents. But we must try and keep trying. Many parents who work very hard to stay connected to their teenager still find it an uphill battle. But please do not give up.

Remember that you are the adults. Don't be afraid to give the child direction and to set reasonable limits. Listen hard to those quiet asides that teenagers often use to tell you what is really going on in their lives.

By the same token, the young people of this nation must have their own sense of responsibility. They must stop this current wave of copycat bomb scares. There are hundreds of students in Columbine High School who are still grieving for their classmates. Think what they must be going through as they hear about a new bomb scare every day. There is nothing original or creative or funny about pranks that strike at the very heart of a community and threaten the lives of others.

Educators and school officials must remain vigilant and be prepared to take tough action against anyone of any age who seeks to disturb the tranquility of our nation's schools.

I also ask the young people of America to say something when trouble is brewing. In just about every violent school tragedy in this last year, we are told after the fact that kids thought that something was about to happen. Please understand, talking to an adult about your concerns may save lives. This is exactly what happened in Brooklyn, New York, two days ago when five eighth graders were arrested with a hit list and a plan to build a bomb.

And the young people of this country can do so much more. They can reach out to their parents and reconnect as well. I was struck by a story that President Clinton told last Tuesday. He said that a Senator had called to tell him about a town meeting he had in his state with children. The Senator asked the students to raise their hands if they had talked to their parents about what happened at Littleton. Only 10 percent of the students raised their hands. He went on to say that one girl actually had to turn off the television and to make sure her parents would talk about it. I urge other students to follow this young girl's example.

My friends, we need to break the silence and start talking to our children in more than half sentences about "how was your day" and "how was school." It may be discomforting at first but we all can listen a little harder to what others are trying to tell us about their lives and their concerns.

In the rush to use pagers, cell phones, fax machines and the Internet let's realize what is really important-let's listen to what we are really trying to tell each other.

As we go forward and seek to respond to the tragedy of Littleton in a positive manner, I ask all Americans to rise above politics. The fact that Senator Sarbanes, a Democrat, and Congresswoman Morella, a Republican, are here today is an example of how we must come together.

In the days ahead, as the Congress and the nation seeks to respond to the concerns of so many parents, let us put politics to the side. Do what is right for our schools, our young people, and our communities. In that context, let me make a few comments.

In the last week, I have heard a great deal of commentary about the lack of prayer in school and the lack of values in our public schools. But consider this. Cassie Bernall, who died in Littleton, always carried her Bible to school. Her right to read the Bible in the library was an act protected by the First Amendment. But tragically she was not protected from the violent young men who gunned her down.

Any student in an American public school today can pray, bring a Bible to school, say grace at lunch, or participate in "see you at the flag pole" gatherings which are quite common in the South where I come from. The religious rights of students are very well-protected. Religion is very much alive and well in America's public schools.

Let us also recognize that America's public schools are doing many things to help young people stay connected. School districts like Montgomery County have peer counseling and character education courses, and they go out of their way to help young people who are struggling with real life issues-divorced parents and teenage pregnancy, just to name a few. Maryland is also a leader in getting students involved in service to others and in putting probation officers in schools to watch over juveniles.

I believe that we must help our schools even more. We need to help teachers and educators create an environment where every young person feels valued-where no young person feels left out or isolated. This is a very difficult task given the enormous number of young people in our schools. But we must rise to the challenge and simply make it happen.

Again and again, I hear the educators tell me that they simply need more counselors and other adults connecting with their students. And we must do a much better job of connecting mental health services to our schools. In this time of great plenty, surely all of us together-at the local, state and federal levels-can find a way to make sure that every student feels he or she is connected to some caring adult in our schools.

And certainly students need to get beyond the easy and even harmful stereotypes and respect each other. An integral part of American education has to be a strong focus on building the character and integrity of our young people-on helping them to learn right from wrong; to appreciate the differences of other students; and to reject doctrines of hate.

Let me make another suggestion. America's teachers are not given adequate preparation for the modern American classroom. For first-time teachers, it can be a real struggle. Even the best of teachers acknowledge the challenge.

A state Teacher of the Year recently wrote to me these honest words: "I'm a good teacher but I've 'lost' scores of kids over the years, not because I don't care, not because I didn't try, and not because I didn't rework my curriculum to make it more 'meaningful' to youth. I lost these kids because I didn't have the expertise and the ability and time to give them what they needed."

What else can we do? I ask communities all across the country to hold their own local summits before the next school year as has been suggested by Tipper Gore.

There are many things that these local summits can do. (1) They can make sure that there is help available for parents who are worried that their children may be prone to violence, such as anonymous hotlines. (2) They can make sure that community groups work with schools to make sure every child is connected to some adult. (3) They can make sure that all schools have strong, proven prevention programs in place.

We at the federal level are working to help keep schools safe. We have sent over 150,000 copies of an "Early Warning Guide" out, and we are in the process of sending another 150,000 to community groups, PTAs and faith communities.

We have committed $35 million for middle school coordinators to help keep our schools drug free and we have asked for another $15 million this year. And we have committed $300 million to a new, comprehensive prevention plan that will help 50 communities across America. Let's remember, we are all in this together and everybody has a role to play in making our schools safer.

I end now by reminding you that our nation's schools are about teaching and learning and helping our children grow up to be responsible and civic minded individuals.

I believe that America's public schools are doing a good job in this regard, and they can do a still better job if we move forward together and respond to the Littleton tragedy in a positive manner. We are a loving and caring nation and we care most deeply about our children and young people.

Here I am reminded of a song written by Kathy Mattea:

"Sometimes I stop on my way home and watch the children play,

And I wonder if they wonder what they'll be some day,

Some will dream big dreams and make it all come true,

And others will go on dreaming things they'll never do.

We're all just seeds in God's hand,

We started the same - but where we land

It's sometimes fertile soil and sometimes sand,

We're all just seeds in God's hand."

Our job together is to make sure that all of our children grow and learn as a beautiful plant would grow in fertile soil-nurtured by parents, caring friends, teachers and all of us in the community.

Thank you for listening.

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