a Teaching Minds Another argument might be that if the schools worked on these issues, they would have students memorize the 12 principles for build- ing self-confidence and learn to express themselves by analyzing clas- sics in world literature. Here is the key point: These issues, the ones that could be learned from dating, transcend all aspects of our lives. And, more important, students know this. I started with the idea that learning begins with a goal. The points I listed above are goals that teenagers actually have. They would not have to be talked into those goals. Moreover those goals are, as all students know anyway, way more important than algebra. They aren’t interested in becoming scholars. Now let’s consider the cognitive science behind this. Everything we do as human beings is goal-directed. We go for a walk for a reason, we shower for a reason, we get a job for a reason, we talk to people we meet for a reason. We pursue goals as soon as we are born. We try hard to learn to walk, talk, get along with our family, get our needs satisfied, and find out what we like and what we don’t like. We do this from birth. If school related to the goals that children actually had, that they were working on at the very moment that they entered school, school would seem like a natural and helpful experience. Stu- dents wouldn’t stress about satisfying their teachers any more than they stressed about satisfying their parents when they were learning to walk and talk. Yes, they want to please their parents, but that is not exactly the same thing. People know what their goals are and they know when something they are being offered, a parasailing lesson or a pomegranate, for ex- ample, doesn’t fit with their goals. They can be convinced to try out a new activity that they believe will not satisfy any of their goals, but for the most part it is difficult to convince them that weird things that were not on their goal list actually should be on the list. We say things