Freakonomics

So I read the hand out, and basically it talks about what factors contribute to a childs test scores and what doesn't. Some of the things I can understand how they contribute, but others I dont see how it makes a difference. Such as having books in the house as opposed to parents who read to their child. It says that just the presence of books in your house means you will do better in school. I don't understand how that could work, because wouldn't reading them benifit you more than just walking past them? Also it says how television can help a child in school where as constant computer use doesn't help. I found this one interesting because our school is requiring us to have these laptops, although they may have some benefits, this article says that they won't help us get furthur than someone who doesn't have a laptop. Another thing which I don't know if I agree with is in the end of the booklet it says that what influences a childs school grades is more who a parent is than what they do for the child. This is really hard to see how that would work - I think it truely depends on everyone's individual situation. You can't say that just because the parent was smart that their child will be smart and vice versa. Yes these things help, but ultimatly it is the child who choses how much they care about school, or anything else for that matter, but those desicions are made through the influence of their parents and the environment that they grow up in.