In "Speaking of Faith," radio journalist Krista Tippett recalls the time when she began to recognize the hypocrisy and contradictions in the behavior of the people around her. Tippett's experience is not only far from unusual, it is formative. It led her to make some important decisions in her life, including the desire never to live a life of contradictions in the manner she had observed in others. Rather than being a jarring experience, seeing hypocrisy and contradiction is something young people need to encounter, in fact are quite likely to encounter. Luckily, it is the fullness of adult life that young people need to see. Young people are aware, at a much earlier age than adults expect, of the ambiguities and compromises that adults must make, and they hunger for guidance in the cultivation of the vast repertoire of responses that need to be developed. Adults model adult behavior not because they want to look good or assure themselves that they are doing the job they should be doing, but for the sake of the young they are bringing along in the world. Adults' reactions when they are angry, when they are caught off guard, when they are the butt of criticism or are having to make a very difficult decision, are powerful moments for children and students, for in those moments they are being offered models of how an adult can respond. So, what should adults keep in mind when they are aware of the fact that their children and students are watching them and absorbing the lessons of their behavior? What are some of the guideposts that will help adults when they are faced with difficulties and challenges that demand the best from them, and the studying eyes of the young are not far away? What do adults, as some of the primary actors on this stage, with young people being the audience, convey to them about how adults operate in their respective roles? In this article, the author offers three suggestions. (Contains 2 notes.)