“Thank you. Aptly describes the problem. I would remind people, additionally, that they are accepting welfare when they send their kids to public school. The argument of property taxes doesn’t prevail.”
You’re welcome. But having said that in my nasty tone (to get the point across), it really can be a major lifestyle hit for conservatives, who tend not to be as wealthy as white Democrats (in general) and also (thankfully) have larger families. For a lot of these people, it may mean living in a crappier area, or maybe even an apartment or cheap condo, just to get the commuting time down (so to have time to home school and keep car costs down) and the cost of housing down.
It’s not easy for these people...but they only have one shot (typically) to raise kids, and the kids will appreciate a relatively meager lifestyle with dad and mom around for them, possibly educating them, MUCH, MUCH MORE than they will ever car about the type of furniture in the living room, or a few rides in the boat.
One last thing to keep in mind. Although the Jones’s may not be impressed that you live in a marginal neighborhood, keep in mind that if you don’t send your kids to public schools it really doesn’t matter too much (unless the place is a real dump). You will control the friends your kid has and they will be better kids than even the kids in the best public schools - that is a given.
I have four friends — that’s two happily married couples — with a total of 20 children (and one on the way). All homeschooled. I homeschooled mine also.
It doesn’t cost much when you have a computer and a few secondhand textbooks which can usually be found at a library book sale.
You save money on the kids’ wardrobes too, when they don’t have to dress for school. (Ok, I’m a Stone Ager, we used to dress up for school. Now, maybe not.)
You save time — which is money — by not having to prepare for school, travel to school, and sit there waiting to learn something.
The 20 kids of my four friends are all good products of homeschooling, as mine are also, and that’s the main thing, but I never did understand the argument about cost. One parent home, doing the teaching, one less salary? But look at the benefits!