I learned Smalltalk in the 1980s as a middle school student. There was always the hope that Smalltalk would actually take off...

Ironically, the use of the browser as the target for programming has, slowly, haltingly, and through nearly-infinite compromises and kludges, actually provided the working platform Smalltalk promised us Gen-Xers when we dabbled in programming as kids. I think it's ultimately for the best, even if not the ideal path to have gotten there...