Another anecdote: when I was young, I just wanted to be on top in class - that kept me busy, but might would have killed my curiosity. Just in time, I changed

Another anecdote: when I was young, I just wanted to be on top in class - that kept me busy, but might would have killed my curiosity. Just in time, I changed to a high school for five years where we could visit voluntary courses in biology, electronics, math, sports, computer sciences, chemistry, drama and everything - no marks. We would even come to school before our first regular class, just to listen to a teacher philosophizing about some travelling salesman problem (we were about 13) and similar miracles from a math perspective. This school cultivated an atmosphere of both curiosity and competition - and could actually deliver - half of our teachers were PhDs - most of them eager to teach, learn, experiment and messing up labs until sunset.