Ask Sir Charles

Q: My kid has struggled in school, and I worry he's going to try and quit as soon as he can. It feels like I've tried everything to convince him of how important it is to stay, but I'm at wit's end. What's the best argument you've ever heard someone make in favor of education?

—Frustrated in Norristown

A: I would try some simple show-and-tell. Show him some help-wanted ads and tell him what certain jobs pay without a diploma. Show him a construction job site and tell him what his unskilled labor is worth on the job. Show him a trash-collection truck and tell him how many college grads are probably working on that crew. Show him how hard it is to make a decent living in this economy without a high-school diploma, let alone a college degree. Tell him public education is free. Get him the help he needs to make it in school. College is an expensive privilege, no doubt about it. But if he wants to drop out of high school, tell him he will be making the biggest mistake of his life. Nobody will ever respect him if he doesn't respect himself.

Q: One of the things I like about the Olympics is that it gives me a chance to see sports I don't normally get to see on TV. What's your favorite sport to watch during the Olympics (not including basketball, of course)?

—Olympic fan in Blue Bell

A: Swimming and track and field. I love watching the participation of individual athletes and hearing about their respective stories through Olympics media coverage. In team sports, you're rooting for country or maybe a few favorite participants, but when it's one person against the world, it's personal. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy watching women's volleyball, but I try not to miss a minute of swimming and track and field events. That to me is the essence of Olympic competiton.