Tulare County Office of Education

Recognize your Kids of Character

The following guest commentary was printed in the Visalia Times-Delta on September 5, 2008 in preparation of National CHARACTER COUNTS! week, October 19-25. The piece was written by Kelley Petty, Coordinator of the CHARACTER COUNTS! program operated by the Tulare County Office of Education.

The Olympic Spirit of CHARACTER COUNTS!

Kelley Petty, CHARACTER COUNTS! Coordinator

As the glorious events of the 2008 Summer Olympics become memories, we can look forward to watching and celebrating triumphs of character during National CHARACTER COUNTS! Week, promoted annually by the Josephson Institute of Ethics. Tulare County celebrates National CHARACTER COUNTS! Week as a time to recognize and share the stories of our youth who have competed in six challenging pursuits - each related to the Pillars of Character: Trustworthiness, Respect, Responsibility, Fairness, Caring and Citizenship.

In this instance, however, we use the notion of "compete" differently than the common concept of winning and losing. We learn a different version from a friend of CHARACTER COUNTS!. He is the spokesperson for the "Pursuing Victory With Honor" framework sponsored by the Josephson Institute of Ethics. His name is John Naber, an Olympic swimmer and four-time gold medalist at the Montreal Games in 1976. Through his sharing of Olympic stories - few having anything to do with winning gold medals - we learn the root meaning of the word "competition" comes from the Latin "competere," meaning "to seek together" (also to "strive together toward a common goal".)

Our young competitors "seek together" to establish themselves as role models as they strive for the common goal of displaying Trustworthiness, Respect, Responsibility, Fairness, Caring and Citizenship. These six character ideals transcend divisions of race, creed, politics, gender and wealth and are common to a democratic society. They allow teachers, parents and community members to build and develop character in youth.

The Tulare County Office of Education and the Visalia Times-Delta again proudly sponsor this year's National CHARACTER COUNTS! Week, October 19-25. Our goal: "strive" to find the youth in grades Kindergarten through 12 who exemplify the Six Pillars of Character. Again, we seek your help. During the month of September, the Visalia-Times Delta will print nomination forms for the "Kids of Character" Award. We urge you to take the time to nominate deserving young people you know. With community cooperation, we hope to break our previous record and collect 11,000 "Kids of Character" Nominations, which coincidently is about the same number of Olympic athletes appearing in Beijing.

Opening ceremonies for CHARACTER COUNTS! Week in Tulare County begin as California Water Service Company employees, under the direction of district manager Phil Mirwald, scale the company's 106' water tower adjacent to the Giant Automotive Mineral King Bowl. At the top of the tower, Phil's crew unfurls the massive "CHARACTER COUNTS! in Tulare County" banner Monday morning, where it remains throughout the week as a visual reminder of our community support. This tradition is unique to Tulare County, for we know of no other community in the nation where this happens!

Students receiving the "Kids of Character" Award will be presented our version of an Olympic medal in the form of a certificate suitable for framing, a CHARACTER COUNTS! pencil, and a Tulare County CHARACTER COUNTS! t-shirt. Their names will appear in the Visalia Times-Delta or on-line at www.visaliatimesdelta.com during CHARACTER COUNTS! Week.

Because we are certain some of our youth have exceptional "gold medal" character, the Visalia-Times Delta will interview, photograph and share the stories of one student every day as a profile article during CHARACTER COUNTS! Week - October 19-25.

To conclude the week, we will introduce over 100 selected youth from throughout the county in a two-page, color photo display featuring their significant efforts of good character. What is the one distinction from the Beijing Olympics? Tulare County will not hold closing ceremonies. Why? Perhaps the plaque at Pillar Square Monument in Mooney Grove Park answers best: "Building character is a lifelong personal and community effort. The CHARACTER COUNTS! Pillar Square Monument represents the dedication and commitment of the people of Tulare County to that lifelong effort. The youth of a community are one of its most loved and treasured resources. The quality of their character will be our lasting legacy."

Young citizens of the Tulare County CHARACTER COUNTS! Olympics - you have made us proud!

Olympic Creed
"The most important thing in the Olympic Games is not to win but to take part, just as the most important thing in life is not the triumph but the struggle. The essential thing is not to have conquered but to have fought well."
~ appears on the scoreboard during the Opening Ceremony. Baron de Cobertin adopted, and later quoted, this creed after hearing the Bishop of Central Pennsylvania, Ethelbert Talbot, speak at a service for Olympic athletes during the 1908 London Games.

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