A Report from Philadelphia: Head Start or Dead End?

The photograph of Negro children looking at an attractive young teacher while she intently reads them a book has become a symbol of the War on Poverty. It conveys a commitment to the innocent and forgotten child, concern for small and unglamorous details, and a one-to-one relationship between the middle-class reformer and the victims of poverty.

The Head Start program has been termed the one unmixed blessing of the War on Poverty and LBJ’s pride and joy. Since it deals with the e...