It seems when younger, we try to walk in the shoes of wisdom, without knowing our feet are too small

I believe the saying was not originally meant as derogatory, but that in the times before formal schools, people were mentored. Once you were too old to continue doing you taught the younger how to do what you did. Even now, my brother in law was a very skilled surgeon but can no longer use a scalpel, so he mentors/teaches.

Sounds pretty foolish to me. Teachers shape hundreds of lives...I just chased money. I would never cast dispersion on them.