Mike Honda: “I am opposing H.R. 2210. I was a classroom teacher and a principal. And my wife has been a kindergarten teacher since…”

“I am opposing H.R. 2210. I was a classroom teacher and a principal. And my wife has been a kindergarten teacher since 1965. So most of us here, we talk about Head Start from personal experiences and from professional experiences rather than sitting in the board rooms of school board members and other things, volunteers to these programs; and I am not going to question the motivations of those who are proposing this bill. But I have to say from my gut that you are wrong. You are wrong about the direction you are headed with Head Start. We understand because we lived it, and we understand it because we worked with the youngsters and we saw it work. I had two primary schools. I established two Head Start programs. Our teachers worked with youngsters who spoke Cambodian, Vietnamese, Spanish; and our kindergarten teachers and first and third grade teachers said it works. If it ain't broke, why do you want to adjust it? We should be increasing funding for Head Start, so that all eligible children can enroll. We should be increasing the salaries of Head Start teachers, and providing the necessary resources to improve teacher quality.”