Patrick, Architect, Philadelphia, PA

Imagine your child (or one you care deeply about) is now in their 30s – out of school and starting into adult life. What do you hope for them about their life? What would make it a good life?

The first thing that comes to mind is at 30 I would think to be romantically involved with someone that they deeply care about. This doesn't necessarily mean marriage but a good relationship. They would also have a job that not just makes them happy and makes money but also challenges them and engages them everyday. Something that they can talk about. Aside from those things that they just have a level of comfort in their lives where they don't have to stress too much about any one thing and have everything kind of balanced out. I think part of happiness is a certain level of comfort.

What role do you think schooling should play in achieving that good life?

I think the way its structured is that it best caters to helping you find a direction in your life. All of the basic subjects that you have in school help you filter out what you really like and what you want to study further and you can continue to narrow it as you go on. It doesn't do that for everyone but for a lot of people education does help you establish a strong core of knowledge and intelligence. It helps you communicate and interact with the people who you want to be around and provides direction. It provides a set of core subjects that you understand and can help utilize for your entire life. The other thing I would add is that teachers should definitely inspire you and there are a lot of lessons you should learn in school about how to be a good person and behave appropriately aside from what your parents teach you.