Mom sues preschool for damaging 4 yo Ivy League chances

AI Thread Summary
A Manhattan mother is suing York Avenue Preschool for $19,000, claiming the school failed to provide adequate educational preparation for her gifted 4-year-old daughter, potentially jeopardizing her chances of admission to elite private schools and Ivy League universities. The lawsuit highlights the competitive nature of early childhood education in New York City, where parents often invest heavily in preschools to secure future academic advantages. The discussion reveals a mix of opinions on the validity of the lawsuit, with some arguing that the high tuition reflects the cost of quality education, while others criticize the pressure placed on young children and the absurdity of suing for preschool experiences. Many participants express concern over the societal emphasis on early academic success and the implications of such expectations on childhood development. The conversation also touches on broader themes of educational inequality and the role of parental involvement in a child's academic journey.
  • #51
seriously this mother is an idiot? preschool is a place for kids to play not learn calculus.

if she is pushing her kid that hard, it's likely that the kid will become alienated from other people forced to study. this does not necessarily mean the kid will become smart.
 
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  • #52
Curl said:
why do most people think memorizing chyt means you're smart?

i wouldn't say it makes her smart, but now she has a vocabulary for it. essentially, it's just teaching a language, and young children soak up language like a sponge.
 
  • #53
Proton Soup said:
i wouldn't say it makes her smart, but now she has a vocabulary for it. essentially, it's just teaching a language, and young children soak up language like a sponge.

They do, but the cost is unknown.
 
  • #54
nismaratwork said:
They do, but the cost is unknown.

such as ?
 
  • #55
<insert 10,000 word long angry rant here>
 
  • #56
Proton Soup said:
such as ?

Well, to maintain that language skill you need to keep practicing. In a bilingual home it's easiest to just speak in both languages, and the kid will pick it up organically. If you're prepping your kid with flash-cards... I have misgivings.

There are cartoons made to teach languages... those I find more palatable, simply because kids seem to enjoy them. I'm not a huge fan of learning for young children that doesn't focus on 'play', and I'm wary of parents who cram babies.

That said, I would have been thrilled to have learned Greek from my father as a child, so there's certainly a wide range of possiblities. The kids I've met who seem most integrated into multiple languages have a bilingual home, the flash-card kids lose a lot of it around age 3, and generally seem less motivated to retain it.
 
  • #57
Curl said:
why do most people think memorizing chyt means you're smart?

Because most people aren't smart perhaps.
 
  • #58
Yeah, why can't we just go back to sitting kiddos in front of a television until they're old enough to be inundated with the mediocrity of school. The world needs more worker bees!
 
  • #59
Ah yes... now I remember why I never want to teach...
 
  • #60
Because the education we've been giving our children in America for decades/centuries is largely inadequate, or at the VERY least not as good as it could/should be? Be the change.
 
  • #61
MJay82 said:
Because the education we've been giving our children in America for decades/centuries is largely inadequate, or at the VERY least not as good as it could/should be? Be the change.

I couldn't care less about being part of that change for a doomed species.
 
  • #62
nismaratwork said:
I couldn't care less about being part of that change for a doomed species.

I hear you and can't fault you for it. Still, some of us must try. :)
 
  • #63
MJay82 said:
I hear you and can't fault you for it. Still, some of us must try. :)

In that, I wish you and all teachers the best of luck, not in the least for having to deal with parents...
 

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