I wonder how many STEM professionals' K-12 education has anything at all to do with their career. Zero connection for me, and I went to a flagship Silicon Valley high school and maxed out the math curriculum there. I can't think of anything I learned in K-12 that relates directly to software development & IT.

I did however make a friend at that high school (in English class) whose dad worked at a big tech company and helped me get into the industry. The school's computer programming club was fun too.

Then again I'm almost 40; maybe it's different for younger people.

If you "maxed out the math curriculum", then surely you got some idea that you enjoyed logic, and were better than average at solving puzzles?

Presumably writers seldom end up writing about the texts they studied in high school, but they may pick up similar impressions of what they like, and what they are good at.

I suppose everyone's experience is a little different. I started writing code when I was about 7 and I really don't think the K-12 curricula I went through had much direct impact on my career. Maybe some people catch the bug in school, I sure didn't. This was roughly 1986-1998, though, maybe things have changed significantly.

That sounds in a way the best case scenario, not to need anything from school. (Although not the one which schools should be designed around.) Or do you think that a better-designed school could have pushed you further, perhaps?