One girl was buying more pencil sharpeners than she could hold in one hand at EduComp on Wednesday, the day before school. Her father asked, “Do you really need six or seven?” “Well, Dad . . .”

What student can be sure what she needs at school? Something cool to wear, or better, some certainty about what is cool. A kind classmate. Snacks. Maybe seven pencil sharpeners.

One sure thing every student needs is quality teaching. This is no mere matter, as a U.S. Census report out yesterday showed that education level — more than any other factor, including gender, race, English-speaking ability — has an effect on an American’s capacity to earn a better living over their working lifetime. Higher levels of education are well-established paths to better jobs and higher earnings, the report says.

But excellent teachers also will instill in students the understanding that what is profitable is not enough. A good teacher will ask students, what is right? In addition to teaching shoe-tying and manners and meeting benchmarks in basic subjects such as reading, writing and arithmetic, teachers are key to nurturing in young people the desire to do the right thing, and giving them the tools so they’ll know what the right thing is.

In their book Practical Wisdom, Swarthmore professors Barry Schwartz and Kenneth Sharpe talk about the dozens of decisions we make every day that call upon us to be wise in our interactions with other people. Mr. Schwartz explained in an interview Aristotle’s concept of practical wisdom. “To do the right thing, and ultimately to be happy, required that you be a person with the right character — courage, honesty, perseverance, and so on . . . The problem was that having these virtues wasn’t enough, because, how courageous should you be and when should you be courageous? The circumstances we face from day to day are varied and multiple, so you can’t be formulaic about it. You need to use your judgment.”

May all those in our school systems be blessed with enough practical wisdom to share it with our students. And may each have a working pencil sharpener.