I’m very intrigued by what you say. There is so much irony on this site. I want to be clear—you are saying that there was at least one Head Start program that worked well? It was cognitively exciting at least?
Interesting materials, games and furniture are a big part of the battle. It couldn’t be better, you say. But then why abolish the whole thing? Why not put a teacher in there who can use those materials to teach fundamental knowledge? (To my mind, whether it’s parents or teachers is not the main point, as long as somebody is doing it.)
My point is that with all of the materials and trained teachers and unbelieveable resources, the kids will still lag behind if the parents aren’t held repsonsible. To assume otherwise is acknowledging that the government can do a better job raising children than loving, caring children can.