In my opinion, it's all part and parcel of the same general problem of looking to government to solve problems that we collectively are too lazy to solve ourselves. The success of school children elsewhere in the world is a testament not to government programs but to cultural expectations and attitudes."

Lazy?

Maybe lazy, but I think the problem is not a consequence of our being too lazy until we have already lost the natural energy and joie de vivre that one would hope every child can retain through to adulthood.

Once that happens, our behaviour may look "lazy", but internally we are, I believe, suffering from visitations of the emotion/mood of despair. If you can buy into that analysis, then I think those of us who have lost less joie de vivre than average have a responsibility to those of us who have lost more. How we can become interested in discharging that responsibility is, I believe, an issue for government, but only because I cannot see any other way.