I remember hammering at my kids "whether or not you think you want to go to college *isn't* the issue here. Whether or not you have the *option* to go to college is. You dont' know what you're going to want to do when you graduate, so keep your options open and do your damned homework."
Bad parenting stopped being a race or economic issue a long time ago. I once asked my kids "don't you know *anybody* whose parents are still married to each other?" They mentioned one kid, whom I knew about, as his parents were heavily active in the PTA. Then both of them sat and thought...and thought...and finally said "nope." Wow, I said. All their friends were either from single parent households or flung back and forth between households like ping-pong balls.
I don't know what the hell happened, either, Nick. Sure, Brittany Spears can dance her little naked ass off on television...but the parents have control over whether or not their grade school daughters dress like that.
I feel a
coming on, so I'm clicking the "off" button on myself.