Agree with @middleburydad2. Talking to this person is like talking to a teenager (actually the teen can be more open). You cannot change them, they are lost. @pizzagirl asked if I laughed at the neighbor who said they weren’t raised to be happy, just to be content and the only way to achieve that was a top school - I didn’t laugh because I just had such pity and sadness for her and the kids. This has been a few years and I still shake my head at the thought of them and the conversation. (btw, Not sure about son, but the daughter hasn’t been home to see them in over 5 years.) For all the importance they place on achieving and how others perceive them because their kid got a B, I find it funny that their yard and house is the worst looking and unkempt in the entire neighborhood. Since the kid failed them by getting a B, I wish they made him clean it up as punishment. 