We started HS'ing about 87-88 I guess...did it K-thru 12...from SoCal to OK....The wife's family...thought we were crazy lunatics. A couple "Masters" prepared educators....within her family...not to mention some doubter's on both sides....voiced their objections.
Well we persevered...not without some doubts along the way. And we sacrificed...money wise.
But it was the best thing we ever did.
My girls are very successful now...And many of their cousins have degree's in "Modern Dance"..and "Foreign Religions"..etc..etc..and living back at home.
It's sad actually.....
My kid finished HS several years ago in a charter school (I’m a single parent) that I was likewise condemned for by statist types. She just left the USAF after a successful career as a Jet mechanic on the 117, the 22 the 36 and lastly, flying aboard the doomsday plane with Hagel. And just got hired into a large defense co.
Getting her out of the mainstream public schools was the best thing I ever did for her. She then did the rest on her own. Because she knew how.
You know, on the surface the numbers look like we made financial sacrifices. But in a closer analysis, that’s not really so.
* The kid went to (a good) college on mostly scholarships and worked for much of the rest. I estimated that in the 4 years of college AND a year in Korea as an exchange student, as well as 10 weeks backpacking through SE Asia, we contributed about $4 or $5 grand in total. She left for college at 16 so we didn’t pay for a car or car insurance. Ever.
*Never paid a dime for day care.Never missed a day of work for the kid if she was sick. Which was pretty rare because of the germ factories that are day care and public schools. Who knows how much less was spent on doctors because she was sick so much less than her friends in school.
* With her mother not working, car, wardrobe and other necessities for job dropped dramatically.
* And because she is happy and successful in life, any money spent on her by us is a gift of love, not necessity.
We are of the opinion that more often than not, the financial advantages of that second income are largely an illusion.
87-88 was my first year of school and though I have none of my own I’d consider HS’ing if I did.