Compare a bright kid with an excellent education to one with a poor or absent education - the difference is profound. I agree that any bright kid can figure it out on his own eventually if the desire to learn isn't killed, but think of all that wasted time. I would much prefer to have my PhD at 20 than at 30 (note: I do not have a PhD - just an example). I think I wasted at least a decade learning what I should have been taught at school.