Argument For Head Start

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Head Start is a government funded program created by President Lyndon Johnson in 1965 to provide preschool education for families of misfortune. Ever since the creation of this particular program, it has been the source of arguments of psychologists, teachers, and even people whom aren’t involved with the program as everyone seems to have an opinion. The program is meant to prepare young children for kindergarten, offering education and social interaction that would not be obtained by staying home with the parent or guardian. Families of lower income with young children often struggle with everyday needs and the extra schooling would be too much to afford. This program is supposed to help those children receive proper preparation for kindergarten…show more content…
In the article, two major psychologists named Betty Hart and Todd Risley started their own early childhood development program, similar to what Head Start was meant to be. At the conclusion of their own study of an intervention program for young children, they found the result to be unsuccessful in helping the child and too difficult to administer and lead correctly. The study involved a school set up with children from high income families to be mixed with children from low income families. The object of the study was to study language and how the children’s vocabulary was different in correlation with their family’s economic status while all children receive the same treatment within the program. The test lasted for approximately one year and the children of the professors had expanding vocabulary while the other children of low-income homes slowed down considerably, thus, placing an emphasis on home life relating to development. The study showed that children of a low-income home had a massive disadvantage by the age of four compared to others. Thus, Head Start programs could not cover the insurmountable disadvantage given to them. Inferior parenting was a major cause of the problem with low socioeconomic status and no matter how much money is put into a program, the problem was…show more content…
Children from these unfortunate homes are not offered the same advanced education opportunities as those children from more fortunate homes. It is believed that Head Start provides the same advanced education opportunity to improve the child’s intelligence and overall wellness. A study that compared success from disadvantaged children in their first school years when having this extra help and when going without, it was shown that Head Start allowed those children to do much better in school than those without. Proponents feel that teachers of Head Start are more involved with the children and that allows for a great deal of improvement in many aspects of their schooling. The help is more personalized and more efficient than any help which may be received at home. These certified and specialized teachers can provide for the child’s needs, both emotionally and intellectually, that the parents would not be capable of fulfilling. It has also been shown that children receiving help from the programs face a lower amount of emotional challenges in school years. Overall, proponents of this program to be very beneficial and that even a little help is better than no help at
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