In this article, John Lounsbury writes that he believes schools and teachers have been pushed to give so much time and attention to meeting narrow cognitive goals that they have not impacted students as persons and citizens as significantly as they should have. The great concern about preparing students for tomorrow--for high school, college, and career--has led to overlooking the fact that students are somebody "today," and that now they are firming up the attitudes, dispositions, and values that will be the prime determinants of both their success in future schooling and in life itself. He remarks that Mother Nature provides an open window with students in this age group that gives educators a better than usual chance to influence them in lasting ways. Lounsbury believes the obsession with standardized test scores may have made the reduced attention to broader, affective goals understandable, but certainly not acceptable if middle level schools are to fulfill the commitment to educating the whole young adolescent. Lounsbury recognizes that it is both a privilege and a profound responsibility of middle schools to guide the learning and development of impressionable young adolescents as they come of age.