TV Reviews : Poignant Lessons in ‘Teaching Morality to Kids’

Could your child lie? Cheat? Murder?

Increasing numbers of our nation’s youth are doing just that, apparently without conscience. We can thank decades of “epidemic greed, dishonesty and corruption,” says a remarkable program, “See Dick & Jane Lie, Cheat & Steal: Teaching Morality to Kids,” airing Sunday at 8 p.m. on KTLA Channel 5.

Don’t tune out. This isn’t a harangue, a religious tome or an hour of doom and gloom. The first part of the show, intelligently hosted by Tom Selleck, does offer shocking examples of “moral collapse”--children, teens and young adults talking on camera of their misdeeds and violent crimes.

But the bulk of the hour shows us we aren’t powerless, with an illuminating cross-country tour of “pockets of hope,” where sound new programs teaching basic decency are making a difference. We’re shown pilot projects involving basic values, self-esteem and personal responsibility that reportedly have resulted in higher academic scores and a major reduction of disciplinary problems and vandalism.

All of them share one thing: Children are treated with respect and they respond in kind. Remember the Golden Rule?

This is the first in a four-part series, “Raising Good Kids in Bad Times,” written, produced and directed by Carol L. Fleisher for Academy Award-winning executive producer Arnold Shapiro (“Scared Straight!”).

Viewers are offered a number to call for videotapes of the show and for information on values-teaching programs to start in their own communities.