The year's end is a natural time for reflection. Every December, I take a break from the hectic activity of the season and sit down for a quiet cup of tea. I look back at the year passed and reflect on the year to come.
This year, my 10-year-old interrupted. He plopped down next to me on the sofa, spilling my tea into my saucer. I sighed. Then I decided to treat his arrival as an opportunity. I asked him what he thought about the future.
"I might be a lawyer," said Miles. "Or a biologist." I noted he'd have to be a good student to enter those professions. "Oh, I'm not worried," he said. "In the schools of the future, we'll arrive in the morning and download all the lessons directly into our brains. Then we can spend the rest of the day playing dodgeball."