our education 'system' blows, being number 14 worldwide according to some studies. with all the resources available here, both monetary and otherwise this is a disgrace. truth is much of school age america is a fat, lazy trash culture with more interest in new cell phones than new books. societal disparities alone can't be blamed for this mess. i have no answers unforunately, just an opinion like everyone else. 
You're correct, of course, but like most big problems, this one has its roots in a myriad of little problems that have been allowed to fester over the years. It's like the car where nobody bothered to figure out that the musty smell was caused by water leaking into the passenger compartment (just hang another air freshener), and settling under the carpet. Suddenly it's like "Hey, the floorboards are rotted out! How did that happen?"
The thing about America is that there are plenty of stories of those who have risen above adversities of all kinds, whether they be physical, social, financial or whatever. It all comes down to the individual, and as the parent of two teenage boys, it is a constant struggle to get the message across that we aren't really
entitled to anything. I work with a younger (20s) guy who told me that his role model was Tony Montana (Scarface) because he came from nothing to be rich and powerful. I told him he might want to rethink that one.
