The story: A New York City woman is suing a preschool on Manhattan's Upper East Side, saying it failed to challenge her 4-year-old daughter, and suggesting it hurt her odds of getting into an Ivy League college. The mom, Nicole Imprescia, said the $19,000-a-year York Avenue Preschool promised an age-appropriate education to prepare her child for elite prep-school entrance exams. Instead, Imprescia says, her child was stuck in a classroom with younger kids being taught shapes and colors. "The school proved not to be a school at all, but just one big playroom," the lawsuit says, as quoted in the New York Daily News. Imprescia yanked her child after three weeks, and wants her money back, plus damages. A lawyer defending the school says it's "regrettable" that a parent would be so disappointed — but that the contract Imprescia signed doesn't allow a refund.
The reaction: Granted, if you pay $19,000 you want something for your money, says Julie Ryan Evans at The Stir, but "ARE YOU EFFING KIDDING ME?" Imprescia makes the "Tiger Mom" look like a "pussycat." Well, to be fair, the school did agree to provide the best education a 4-year-old could get, says Stephanie Rabiner at FindLaw. So if Imprescia expected her kid to learn French instead of shapes, maybe she does deserve a refund — but nothing more. Oh, come on, says Carolyn Robertson at Baby Center. A preschool, even a $19,000-a-year one, should feel like a playroom. This is where wee ones learn to share, work together, and form their "first little friendships." If we're prepping kids for the Ivy League when "they're barely out of diapers," that's just sad.
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