&gt; Lots of people here are pretty certain the &quot;key&quot; to a &quot;successful education&quot; are parents.<p>Most studies I&#x27;ve seen on the topic show that the best predictor of one&#x27;s educational success and attainment is one&#x27;s parents educational attainment, so there is something to that that an anecdote from a teacher that, aside from not being a systematic gathering of evidence, doesn&#x27;t even describe an <i>experience</i> of what drives outcomes, but simply relates a personal practice, isn&#x27;t really sufficient to rebut.