@austinmshauri I must have explained my point poorly if I gave the impression that I think we should not spend money on the less fortunate but I do think money is not spent very wisely. I simply think that many kids have incredible achievements and it is too easy to say it was only due to their privilege. There is still a large effort involved in their accomplishments. In our area, there are two school districts and it seems they compete to see which district can provide smart boards to all classrooms, provide computers to all, Rosetta Stone, etc. All of these can be fine tools but from what I have seen are not a great use of money given how they are used.
Definitely I am using anecdotal experiences from a smallish area in the South but to your comments the schools are certainly not great but many do not want to admit that so they do not get better (but we do have some great sports programs…). Clearly I do not know every families thoughts on education but I know quite a few families and am very aware of their priorities.
Re my son’s successes, I would not say he has achieved anything spectacular but he really likes math so we have supported it. He would not have the knowledge he has without the programs. We also support sports, cultural experiences and various other academic pursuits. He is just as happy learning how to use Python as he is playing in a soccer/tennis tournament so we pursue both. Once again, I am very supportive of providing many opportunities to everyone who cares to use them but from my small community I have not seen many that are willing to put in the efforts.