I'd need to talk about a specific instance, but no, in this case, I was talking about the kinds of help that Sotomayor had along the way that got her into a good secondary school, which led her to a good college, etc. Unfortunately, the way our society is set up, the kids who most often have someone looking out for them are the ones who start out with more. So making sure that the kids who come from less have some people on their side, watching for opportunities and smoothing their way, is really important.

I've heard some of that from others (including my wife, who taught)...and I've also heard the opposite....that a # of public schools are devoting so much attention to the less fortunate, that potentially gifted and talented kids are lost in the shuffle.