You touched on a couple of points that resonated with me. My grandfather was a steel worker and one of his work friends was illiterate. He had gotten a job in

You touched on a couple of points that resonated with me. My grandfather was a steel worker and one of his work friends was illiterate. He had gotten a job in a steel mill back in the 1960s and somehow had fallen through the cracks in the educational system. (To be fair, this man probably sought out those cracks and crawled into them but that's another matter) He was similarly not a dumb guy, he was able to learn how to perform complex jobs safely in a dangerous industrial environment. He never admitted it at work, it would have been volunteering for vicious bullying but my grandfather was able to deduce it from his behavior and actions. After they retired, this man finally decided to learn to read and enrolled in a program. I can't imagine what it would be like to get into my 60s before learning how to read. Also, I went back to college at 30 years old and not only was I a more focused and driven student than I was when I first went at 18, I was consistently more focused and driven than most of my younger classmates. I pounded out 4 degrees in 6 1/2 years.