That's fine. I mean, you have personal experience from the parenting side with this stuff, which is hard to trump or argue against. I firmly believe that brilliance will out, as it were. I shouldn't call it unimportant -- to some students it's vital; but to others it doesn't matter a whit. From personal experience, I guess.
Like b_b said, parents are what it comes down to. They tend to instill the curiosity in a child that nurtures brilliance. What a good school can provide are the tools to satiate that curiosity. That's important stuff and you might be shocked at how early the thirst for satiation occurs.
Yeah I agree very much with what b_b said. The tools have to come from somewhere, but I can't help but think of (the obviously exceptional) Abraham Lincoln. He had no "tools", so he walked miles to his neighbor's houses to borrow books and he taught himself to read. School is an easier way for some, but isn't all-important.