> Typically the only parents that have any control over their child's "opportunities and levels of education..." are those in the uppermost classes.

I'm not in "the uppermost classes". I'm probably at the 80% of household income and went to a state school.

I put my son in a fantastic school in a well-off neighborhood rather than the default assigned school (my mom drives him there and I pay a babysitter/nanny to drive him back). Most of the kids that can read a little bit before entering kindergarten.

He goes to various sports camps and activities classes. His babysitter (more like a part-time nanny) helps teach him to read. We'll probably pay for music lessons and various tutoring later. I also taught my son addition and subtraction of small numbers before entering kindergarten. And we've done a variety of activities to help him learn about science, money, and more.