I used ClarisWorks for school too. It struck me as well made, even though at the time I was uninterested in programming. My friends had Windows, and Microsoft Word struck me as a bloated mess. I suppose my impression was from the speed, orderliness of the menus, and cleanliness of the graphic design.

Also remember when it was replaced by AppleWorks. I didn't like it as much as ClarisWorks, but I still liked it more than Word. The problem with the world is that it just has no taste.