Remarkable diction and perceptiveness for a 10 year old compared to today.
How much of that is a difference in income, a difference in the education system, and/or a difference in the cultures belief in a need for education?
I believe it's the difference in income of the people of that time.
Many 10 year olds were working jobs themselves just to help put food on the table........which thankfully led to today's child labor laws.
That was NYC, kids in the heartland were helping their parents work their farms and if lucky, there might have been a small one room schoolhouse nearby that they could attend if their parents didn't need them on the farm.........