They were not special or exceptional but they were more in tune with the emergent needs of the world and able to move beyond some of the assumptions of the past. A common thread that ran through all the stories was that in some compassionate way, they had engaged with people different from themselves, learning again and again to cross and redraw the boundaries between self and other. The epilogue of their book contains some very concrete suggestions about new directions that we could take to move toward the common good. The moral life of the community is determined, in part, by the images available to it for the formation of the imagination by which it lives. The media are primary providers of those images in the contemporary world.
Modern media has the power of amplification.
Many people in their study said they came to a greater understanding of themselves and others through poetry, film, music, biography and theater. The final chapter of The Moral Intelligence of Children is an open letter from Coles to parents and teachers. In it he shares some of his learnings from children. He learned that children constantly try to comprehend life's wonders and mysteries, its ironies and ambiguities. They engage in moral exploration.