What do you think is more important to children’s development: comfortable living conditions or an enriching intellectual environment?

On one hand Jeannette Walls describes the squalor she and her family lived in: hunger, poverty, garbage, lack of basic necessities. On the other, she describes the rich intellectual world her parents imparted: discussions of geology, math, literature, art. In light of the fact that three out of the four Walls children became successful, productive members of society, what do you think is more important to children’s development: comfortable living conditions or an enriching intellectual environment?

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