My father, a high school dropout, claimed to love my mother, but he had
funny ways of showing it. On one occasion, he shot her.
President Bush shows a similar tendency toward contradiction. He professes
to care deeply for our nation's children, yet the National Head Start
Association, which represents the 900,000 at-risk preschool children in
1,900 Head Start programs, says his plan to let cash-starved states take
over these programs could result in the demise or ruination of many of
them.
I am one of the 20 million people who have benefited from the Head Start
program since its inception in 1965. Two memories from my Head Start year
demonstrate the effectiveness of nurturing the whole child early on. The
first is singing my ABCs. The second is Mrs. Williams, my teacher,
explaining to me the week after my mother returned from the hospital that
I shouldn't take my anger out on my friend Rachel, who I had begun to
torment with punches and pinches.
According to the Children's Defense Fund, 28% of parents of Head Starters
have less than a high school diploma. Like me, one in five of the children
have been exposed to violence. For many of these children, the
vaccinations and free meals they receive at Head Start are the only
medical and nutritional attention they get. Studies have shown that Head
Start children are less likely to repeat a grade, require special
education classes or be charged with a crime.
I believe Head Start helped me rise above my sad family circumstances. I
avoided drugs, teen pregnancy and crime; instead, I now have a law degree.
The Bush administration argues that states can better manage and
coordinate state and federal funds for preschoolers, but independent
studies have found that few have federal Head Start officials' ability to
do as comprehensive a job of serving at-risk children, especially at a
time when so many states are struggling just to avoid budget deficits.
''Work hard. Read. Make the right choices,'' Bush advised America's
children in an open letter last year. That's excellent advice, and I hope
he takes it. The right choice is to leave Head Start in the hands of those
who already have done so much for so many -- including me.
Yolanda Young is an attorney in Washington and the author of "On Our
Way to Beautiful".
