GuestLib, if I had been allowed to progress through school solely on the basis of my measured abilities, I would have gone to college at age 14. And I would have been an arrogant, emotionally immature and insecure little bitch. Instead, I moved up with my age-mates and spent the extra time reading and observing... thanks to perceptive teachers who had the sense to step back and let me educate myself through books.

Despite your scorn towards 'secular humanism' and the pop psych teaching of the 70's, some of us needed a little humanizing. And I still think that being educated in a diverse setting was paramount in my transition to becoming a human being. When you encounter those who have not, whether the commodity is food, family, money, an able body, or brains... you learn to be fervently grateful for what you have.