Actually, yes I think he did hit a nerve TT, one of yours. I left school with nothing, grew up in care and was involved in juvenile crime. Spent far too much time pursuing girls to read books.
And then, I started to turn my life around with the help of a few who could see my potential and worth. I now hold a Masters and am studying for an MPhil (pre doctorate). These don't make me a better person, yes, they do indicate that I have sufficient intelligence with which to view the world, but it means not a jot to the children and young people whose mental health I have been working with for 45 years, and do six days a week given the enormity of current need.
The degrees are simply a means to influence policy makers and other clinicians to help children. Thats a moral obligation for me. Make whatever sense of it you wish, but never assume that you know someone's origins.
I teach my students to look for what they cant see. I show them a picture of a tree, ask them to write down what they can see, and then take the picture away. Then I ask them to write down what they couldn't see.
There's a lot about you I can't see and don't know. That doesn't mean it's not there.