Well, I didn’t grow up on a farm, but the life lessons I received during summer vacations were just as valuable as anything from similar lengths of time at school. Working, 2 summer stints with the Youth Conservation Corps (work, but quite an adventure, too), a 3 week family trip looping through the Western USA...
Don’t get me wrong, I studied hard and did very well in school. And through plenty of direct experience it is clear to me Asian kids generally ARE more successful academically than typical American kids. But, is that summer vacations, or is it our schools, and even more is it crucially family situations & input, not to mention many other social inputs? What would the comparison have been in the 1950’s or 60’s?
Interesting, but you can’t draw any conclusions from an N of 1 study. The twin who got lost could have experienced birth trauma that affected her IQ. The article also said she had contracted measles before she came to the US. High fever could also have impacted IQ. Or not. There are just too many variables to draw conclusions from this one case.