There is a new source of excitement among Notre Dame student-athletes this summer. They are teaching decision-making skills to neighborhood elementary students and learning first-hand the value of making good decisions in their own lives.

The cause for all this excitement started with a new character development curriculum based upon teaching a decision-making framework we're using at Notre Dame called LifeGoals (www.lifegoals.net). The responsiveness of our athletes, as well as the other students, tells me we've struck a rich, untapped vein in the world of education.

What seems to hit home most among our student-athletes is the realization that we are all the product of the sum of our life decisions. This new curriculum shows students how to use their goals as a compass to guide their decision-making. They learn how to teach goal-setting and map out the decision process through real-life examples, interactive decision-making exercises and in-class role-playing.

The fact is that all of the social problems facing our society today, of which our athletes are often an all-too-visible group, stem from poor decision-making. If we can produce better decision-makers, we will minimize the negative social trends that plague our children.

To be clear, the next generation is in crisis. The numbers are staggering. Half of all teenagers have divorced parents. One-third of all children live with a single mother. It's estimated that 20 percent of children today are "latchkey," or left alone at home during the day. Compared to the 1960s, children now spend 11 fewer hours per week with their parents, and as many as 5,000 children die each year as a result of parental abuse.

The litany of disturbing trends is alarming and unending.

An estimated 270,000 guns are brought to schools every day. Compared to 30 years ago, there has been a 300 percent increase in teen suicides. Twenty percent of female students have experienced violence while dating, and more than 123,000 children are arrested for violent behavior each year.

Today, with media's pervasive influence, children can identify more beer brands than presidents. By the end of their elementary schooling, children will witness 8,000 murders in all media, will see 14,000 sexual situations and 44 percent of those surfing the Internet will have visited porn sites. It's estimated that 31 percent of all boys admit addiction to video games.

How are schools and parents going to cope? How are schools and parents going to positively effect this problem? It's just too easy for a student in this environment to make life-limiting mistakes; there is too much pressure, too little parental influence, a high availability of drugs and guns. The stakes have never been higher, especially for young student-athletes.

LifeGoals is a character-building program that addresses perhaps the most critical factor: the fourth R -- Reasoning. The fourth R, or learning how to make decisions, is key in determining who we are and who we become. The choices students make today determine their futures.

Does it work? Our participating students arrive at class early. They stay afterward to ask questions and extend discussions. And they even volunteer for additional work.

LifeGoals was introduced this summer at neighboring St. Mary's College (Indiana). The program was open to Notre Dame students and we suggested to some of our athletes that they enroll. Their reaction was, to say the least, overwhelming. Aside from the significant benefits they convey to the kids, it affords Notre Dame athletes an opportunity to reinforce their commitment to serve as role models and as community leaders.

A key component of the program is its outreach segment. The St. Mary's and Notre Dame students impart their classroom knowledge in teaching assignments at South Bend inner-city elementary schools. The curriculum for Notre Dame and St. Mary's and the elementary school outreach was made available at no cost by LifeGoals as a pilot introduction. Normally, it goes for $25,000 a year on a three-year license, which includes faculty training and student texts plus a complete curriculum and teacher guides for K-6 classes at one nearby elementary school selected as an outreach project.

LifeGoals was developed by Tom Reynolds, a distinguished decision theorist and professor emeritus from the University of Texas System. The theoretical basis of the curriculum is that positive decision-making will produce responsible behavior, which leads to good character.

Reynolds contends that the three R's that have served as the foundation of American education are not enough to prepare children, and our athletes, for the world they face today. It is his view that we need to add this fourth "R" -- Reasoning.

As part of the course work, each student leads the class through decision situations, analyzing choices on the basis of values. As a byproduct of this experience, they gain an appreciation for the role of teachers and coaches. They also learn creative skills to keep the class engaged and focused. There is an obvious carryover to team sports.

The college version of LifeGoals is attracting interest from a number of NCAA schools, especially athletics directors who can see the values that can accrue to the young men and women in their programs.

Based on our experience this summer, the LifeGoals course is under review to be included in the Notre Dame curriculum. For good reason. It's a program in which everyone wins; the children, the athletes and the university.

Lawrence Cunningham, an associate athletics director at the University of Notre Dame, recently was hired to be the athletics director at Ball State University.