deacongirl,
It is clear that the scientific evidence shows that the presence or absence of an enriched environment starting very early in life has a profound impact on later IQ. It is worth noting that the early environment in many poor families is not only not "enriched" but is, in fact, profoundly deprived in many of the dimensions that we know directly impact IQ, such as levels of verbal interaction and direct parental involvement, duration of breastfeeding, presence of adequate nutrition, early exposure to books and quantitative concepts, and opportunity to engage in exploratory play. Deprived environments depress IQ scores regardless of the "genetic potential" of the child.
