The students sit at desks in groups of four, watching videos about the recent bush fires in Australia. One shows an apocalyptic landscape in flames, the other a tourist paradise, with assurances that much of the continent is safe.

(Living In)

We often write about students and education, quoting students, but for this issue of Learning we wanted to hear from them directly. We went to Abraham Lincoln High School in Brooklyn, New York, which has nearly 2,000 students in grades nine through 12, and asked more than a dozen of them to answer the following questions: What would you change about your education? What are your education goals? What is the biggest challenge for you in terms of your education? Their answers have been edited and condensed.