I was at a birthday party recently where I met a woman with a child a little younger than my 3 year old son. As is normally the case, the topic turned to preschool. I was impressed by her candor. She said, "My husband and I went back and forth regarding whether or not we were going to play the preschool game. We finally decided to play it. Well, at least we know that we’re playing the game." I on the other hand mentioned that I had decided the opposite…I refuse to play the game. (For those who are wondering what in the world I’m talking about, "the game" is paying insane amounts of money for pre-school so that your kid can possibly get in a good school in the future.) I don’t know, I just can’t wrap my mind around paying more for pre-school at Columbia (which a friend of a friend is doing) than I paid for college tuition there (granted that was 15 years ago tuition). Maybe it’s because I’m from the South and grew up with a totally different educational system. (I’m not even going to start on how much I dislike the amount of standardized tests that NYC students have to take. God forbid if your kid is a great student/ learner but not a great test taker…). In any event, I love the city, but the educational system definitely still leaves much to be desired.
(On a side note, the November issue of TimeOut New York Kids has an interesting, informative cover story on getting into NYC’s nursery and kindergarten schools.)