I teach GED (General Equivalency Diploma) to convicted felons in the Florida Department of Corrections. ANd I see it all day long. I often hear things like "It's not my fault, I had to sell drugs to make ends meat."

Before I taught in the prison system I taught a program for troubled youth and the parents would often blame us for not fixing their child. In fact I got into trouble with my principal because I told a parent the following: "look, you've have 15 years to screw up your kid, I've only had 6 months to try and fix him, I'm going to need a bit more time here."

On the other hand I've met a lot of convicts who've taken responsibility for their actions and are trying to turn their live around. And I've seen a lot of parents really step up to the plate and raise their child. So there is hope.