Spot on Sooz and Backwoodsman.

In a prefect world there might be more emphasis on life skills such as parenting in the school curriculum. If we could try and get to those kids whose home lives leave a lot to be desired and show them that there is a better way to live, maybe their own children might stand more of a chance.

A lot of these kids have no self esteem and, from my own experience, that wasn't helped by some of the teachers, who were downright bullies to the more vulnerable at school. There were some very good teachers who I remember with affection to this day, but I think that teachers need to be trained to notice those who are drowning and to make an effort to pull them back up. There are almost always pointers to those kids.

All this of course, needs more resources than most schools have right now, with what seems to be a concentration on results, that does not allow for these kids to be noticed and helped. Something's wrong somewhere.