I disagree entirely.
I went to a school where the fact that my parents owned their house probably put me in the richest 20% of the students. It was in a small town in a rural area and the local industry (printing) was in decline.

I was fortunate - a good memory for facts and figures, a sharp mind and a tendency not to fall apart in exams so I had it fairly easy.

A lot of my friends didn't. They worked hard, got D's and C's, some stayed on for A-levels, some did GNVQs or went to the local college, others went off to do apprenticeships. Only a handful of us went to uni.

I'm sometimes jealous of the ones who went to work after college - they own their own houses now, can afford cars, have less debt and have had a few more years to settle down. They're IT support people, Web designers, policemen, primary school teachers, cleaners, shop managers.

They're justifiably proud of who they are and what they do.

The ones who didn't bother with school could hardly string a sentence together, they're the ones who had kids at 15, who dropped out and did nothing except sponge of the dole, who didn't have to worry because 'I'm gonna be a prin'er like me dad' even when most of the local factories were closing.

The smart ones wised up after a year or two and went to college or trained up on the job - I met one of them a few years ago who is doing pretty well as a Sous-chef at a local restaurant.

The lucky ones got factory labourer jobs.

As for the rest, I have very little sympathy for them.
( chenobble rocking his explorer beard on, Fri 18 Apr 2008, 10:46, Reply)