Wednesday, February 08, 2006
"This whole nasty mess could have been avoided, if only he had gone to preschool."
In the past 2 weeks, we have
- obtained an apartment
- arranged for rental furniture
- booked a moving company
- made a move plan
- started school registrations
But the most menacing task by far has been finding a preschool. Of the dozens available within reasonable driving distance of our apartment, only 3 that we could afford had current openings. And 2 of them had only 1 spot!
Some of the preschools I called were $1,000 a month or more! For this sum, you might think that the kids are there 12 hours a day and eating prime rib. Not so. That was a price for a 3 morning a week program! I actually laughed at one lady and said, no really. What's it cost?
There is an ad campaign running in this city that promotes that statistically speaking, a preschool educated child is less likely to be homeless, do drugs, and become a criminal. Of course, this is the oldest ad trick in the book because it uses converse logic. The real statistics are these: of the drug addicts, criminals and homeless people reviewed by the State, only a small percentage had gone to preschool (or recall going, at any rate!). The logic trap set for the viewer is that you naturally assume the converse is true... if criminals weren't preschoolers, then preschoolers won't become criminals.
Apparently, this campaign is working gangbusters. Demand is hammering supply. One place had a wait list 92 kids deep. How can this be? (And, I would like to know where these 92 children are waiting, so that I may avoid that place.) Most schools require parents to take a tour before they will even wait-list a child. Yet none of these schools have current openings... parents must be on a tour merry-go-round all the time, placing multiple applications and hedging their bets.
I snagged Becca a spot at a new preschool that had just opened so word isn't quite out on them yet. But the school got 5 new applications the day before I turned in Becca's!
I am now beginning to dread finding a summer camp for Sarah... I pray that there will not be a public awareness campaign linking prostitution to summer camp deprivation before I start looking...
4 comments:
Shel, the statement should read more like this: "If you are blessed enough to be born into a family that has enough money and concern for you to send you to a good presschool, you probably won't wind up a drug addict, criminal or a homeless person".
Well, exactly! That's why the campaign is sort of "cheating," in my mind. (Not that I have not deployed this technique from time to time myself...)
You are in the unique position to start an ad campaign against preschool. Many notable serial killers went to preschool...where do you think they learned to be so charming? I am just brain-storming here...work with me.
Yes this is good. Down with preschool. Sets up conformity too early and too much opportunity for social rejection at a young age. I like it. I bet Ted Bundy went to preschool...
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