Kids having to know Powerpoint by age 6? Well, I'd say they're on shakier ground there! I've never heard of such a thing. I feel very confident in saying that is NOT the norm!
And here we are thinking it must be norm b/c it was so matter of fact that 6 year olds will need to be able to do a PP presentation. This is why I really do appreciate your opinion; it gives me a reality check!
But yours doesn't sound like most of the pre-K stories I've heard. I have the impression that most places start honest-to-goodness pre-K programs in earnest at age 3, not age 2.
People look at me like I am nuts b/c my DD 27 mths is not in preschool yet. I hear time and time again that their children were on the waiting list since birth and my poor child ... I never thought about wait lists until right before DD was 2 and now we have the opposite problem of her possibly not getting in b/c we might be too far down on the wait list.
It's common in NYC and parts of Chicago. Maybe also in other big cities with wealthy populations and private school slots to compete for? But from what I've seen and heard, I don't think it's standard practice in most of the rest of the country.
I certainly do not live near NYC or Chicago but do have one of my BF that does and her child has been apart of that pressure that you describe. For clarification I live in Austin, TX and our dynamic appears different to even the larger cities in TX. Dallas and Houston rely on private schools much like NYC and Chicago b/c the public school districts are a joke. We have the opposite here. People rely on the zip code which makes housing prices soar for this district, which of course makes it impossible for economic diversity and further divides this area.
