Parents are a child’s first teacher and lifelong advocate, but what about those children whose parents aren’t very good at either role? Can anyone champion these children, especially in the classroom? If so, who should it be — other parents, teachers, policymakers, legislators? I discuss that challenge today. Readers share their views on how to improve the odds for kids who don’t have parents in their corner able to provide them with any advantages. In a guest column, an educator criticizes Fulton County schools' abstinence-based sex education curriculum.