At least the parents of that black kid put him in summer school to try and help him. He just didn’t want the help.
The parents may have had the right intent, but perhaps the kid really needed an intense tutorial environment to teach basic reading/writing/mathematical skills before entering a science class. It was targeted at 9th grade. Presumably, you can read, write and perform basic algebraic equations at that point in life.
I recall Nathaniel Borenstein (inventor of MIME) relating his experience in the university in Tel Aviv. He took all the Hebrew classes growing up as a kid and figured he was ready to dive into college with that level of skill. It was a real struggle for him. He's a very bright guy, but put himself into a situation that was extremely challenging compared to his current ability.