Does Head Start Make a Difference?

As an education professional I believe that early childhood education has a strong impact on a child's life. Not knowing anything about the woman I discuss below, my limited observation follows. This story is meant to highlight what I believe to be a larger issue and not directly offend parents who might make a mistake. 

This past Thursday around 1:00 pm, I was walking down the street in Chinatown, DC when a woman in about her thirties, ran past us on the sidewalk yelling, "Ugh, wait, wait, wait!" at the bus that had just closed its doors, about to pull away. About fifteen people waiting at the bus stop looked at her, with her baby in the stroller, feeling her frustration. We can all understand how it feels when you see a bus door closing, knowing the next one might not come for another fifteen minutes, at least.

The attention quickly shifted. A girl around four years old ran onto the street, along side the bus, trying to help her mom catch the bus. Following behind her, was her two to three year old brother. You can only imagine the fear in everyone's eyes: A small boy running next to tires that were his size, as they slowly began to move.

I was behind a crowd of people. I'm not sure whether the boy was pulled onto the sidewalk by a stranger, or if the bus stopped because of traffic or the driver felt something was wrong. Thankfully, no one was hurt. But I was angry. How could this mother not think about the safety of her children on the crowded streets in Chinatown? Was waiting for a bus so horrible for this mother, that all common sense left her mind? This story is only one incident I happened to observe during my day. But I wonder if a story like this a part of a larger societal problem.

In my Emergent Literacy: Research into Practice class in grad school, we had a short conversation about the importance of Head Start. Head Start is an educational program for kids from lower income families. It is an environment that not only helps with cognitive development, but supports children's health, and social emotional development. It also helps parents learn about parenting and how to be supportive to their children. Do I know if these kids came from a disadvantaged family? No. Do I know the exact ages of the kids and whether they are enrolled in school or not? No. But as an early childhood teacher, my gut feeling was, "If only these kids were in school, they would have some structure. Maybe if the boy was in Head Start the mother would learn something about parenting."

There are people who believe Head Start is a waste of government spending. Some people do not think what a child learns or does not learn at three years old matters. Planet Money, a program funded by NPR, made a podcast about a study that started in the 1960s at the Perry Preschool Program, where they followed children for 40 years to determine whether attending preschool makes a measurable difference in a child's development. Half of the children in the study had free access to preschool, and half didn't have access to preschool at all. The study found that the children who attended preschool were less likely to be arrested and made more money at their jobs. The researchers also found that the skills acquired in preschool that help with your future are more difficult to gain as you get older.

There are other children who almost get hit by a bus or don't know to stay off of a busy street. There are parents with three or more kids who don't know the first thing about parenting. I wonder if this mother, who seemed to be clueless about the safety of her children, attended a preschool herself. Will her kids make similar irresponsible decisions as adults? Or will programs like Head Start allow disadvantaged children to have a successful future? The Researchers at the Perry Preschool Program would say yes, and I agree.


Planet Money (2011, June 10). The case for preschool. Planet Money @ NPR Podcast. Podcast 
            retrieved from http://www.npr.org/blogs/money