How fair is the process of education and exams, especially when dealing with people who are neurodivergent and cannot think in a way that works in that system? I didn't do well in school because I found it really hard to see the relevance of a lot of what was being taught. Learning something to learn it without context or some application doesn't really work for me.
Every school report was the same story: 'could do well but lazy'. It was only when leaving education and getting into work that I was drawn to the things that I was interested in, either through self-discovery (somehow) or from recommendation and introduction from the people I met in the array of jobs I've had over nearly 25 years. It wasn't laziness, it was relevance and a practical application.
A solid example of this is seen in The Wire, where cop-turned-teacher Pryzbylewski quickly realises that if he can find links between what the kids know from their lives on the street and what he's trying to teach they'll absorb everything much more quickly. And they prove to be curious and capable people who just happen to have been dealt a bad hand in life.