Ask anyone in North America in their late 30's, and yes, we all used Apple II's and IIGS's in school.
Personally I liked the IIGS a lot. Didn't hold a candle to my Commodore's or Amiga's at home, so I was a bit snobbishly biased, but good for what it was. A quite capable, reasonably expandable box. Still hold their value quite well, from what I've seen when I occasionally look them up on ebay, and there's some pretty good after-market kit available for them still, too (think: the kind of stuff Jens makes for Amiga's).
Were I gifted with unlimited space, time, and money, I'd definitely like to have one today.