There are many bright, bright kids out there, who no doubt will rise to the top.
But there is also a huge percentage of deadbeat, amoral students, particularly in urban areas, who will be a burden on society because the schools failed them (and because they fail themselves).
There are many problems in society that go beyond the schools. There's too much of a tendency to blame others for our problems, sometimes we lump them all into one entity (the liberals have perfected that craft). Some criminals blame their doings on their upbringing. While there may be some psychological things, for the most part, it is a conscious act BY THE PERSON himself. Being gay is a lifestyle decision for the most part. Having an abortion is still the result of an act by THAT person (the abortion is that person not taking responsibility for his/her action). We can blame others all we want, but again, our lives are the results of our own choices. It's what we make of it that counts.
Besides ourselves, our parents are the biggest influence (or lack of it) on our lives. But after a certain point, WE become repsonsible for our ownselves. Blaming something else for our own shortcomings means we are not looking at ourselves and what we can do to improve.