Sometimes, blog posts are like a half-drunk sippy cup of milk. Sure, you could finish them right away, but if you tuck them away in the folds of your stroller canopy and just let them sit for a couple of weeks, they grow all kinds of things.
The Bay Citizen's disgruntled takedown of The Playgroup, the private, free, invite-only preschool operated by Ann and Gordon Getty in their Pacific Heights mansion is just such a story.
Basically, the Gettys started the Playgroup for their own kids and their friends' kids, and they hired a teacher, or director, and a small staff, and turned the whole place out into an idyllic, toddler nirvana. Well, except for the total lack of state licensing and oversight, and the controversies that erupted when said director, who has Montessori accreditation, but no developmental or therapy-related credentials, kind of told a family their kid had Asperger's. Only he didn't, not even close.
So there's that, and the socially awkward situations that result. But whatever, the real action is in the Citizen's comments section. People couldn't be angrier if you parked your Hummer in the bike spaces at Whole Foods. It's like YouTube comments by people with two masters' degrees. It's-- eh, whatever, you get the idea.
For Some Inside Getty Preschool, An Unsettling Gilt Trap [baycitizen.com via, uhm,]
