Dyslexic like his dad, Craig struggled with school but showed early self-confidence. (He piloted the family yacht through the San Juan Islands when he was only 14.) In August 1969, when Craig was 19 and a sophomore at Stanford University, his father died of heart failure.

FORBES: "We're On A Collision Course"

Christopher Ray, of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference, which represents independent school leaders, told BBC News the new system could potentially harm "students who only when they get their AS-level results in Year 12 realise how bright they are, who are perhaps in an underperforming school or college and who suddenly have the self-confidence to aim for the stars".

BBC: A-level plans may 'threaten uptake of tough subjects'

The skills and life lessons that teens gain in early work situations can create just as much if not more satisfaction and self-confidence than doing well in school.

FORBES: Fund a Teenager's Million-Dollar Retirement

In addition, they also demonstrate significantly higher levels of positive social and personality development (e.g. positive interpersonal relations, good communication and creative skills, more self-confidence and a greater ability to integrate into the school environment).

UNESCO: Family Literacy Programmes (FLPs)

We need citizens and parents to get involved, because nothing we do in school with make much of a difference unless we instill in our kids the self-confidence and the self-discipline and the work ethic that are at the heart of success not just in school but in life.

WHITEHOUSE: President Obama on Education at TechBoston