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> That means homeschooling is restricted to the upper middle class, people in rural areas with cheap housing or people who are really, really willing to sacrifi

> That means homeschooling is restricted to the upper middle class, people in rural areas with cheap housing or people who are really, really willing to sacrifice for it. If everyone around you is on two incomes and you're on one that better be an excellent income or you will need to sacrifice a lot. Elizabeth Warren has written an excellent book describing the pitfalls of two-income families that send their children to public schools. It's called "The Two Income Trap". http://www.amazon.com/Two-Income-Trap-Middle-Class-Parents-Going/dp/0465090907/ http://www.amazon.com/Two-Income-Trap-Middle-Class-Parents-G... In it, she demonstrates that having two incomes isn't the advantage that you might intuitively think it is. Actually, having a single income and homeschooling (or outschooling) can make a family more resilient and flexible, for two main reasons: 1. A second income earner can be brought in if something happens to the employed spouse. Two-income families are already tapped out. 2. Location. If the family doesn't enroll their kids in a public school, they are free to live wherever they want, so long as the breadwinner can still commute. This cuts expenses way down. No longer do they have to compete with two-income earners for homes in a particular school district. So, while having a parent remain at home is certainly a different lifestyle, it isn't clearly something that can only work for the wealthy. I know many homeschooling families who would not be described as wealthy.

bsder 11y ago
> 1. A second income earner can be brought in if something happens to the employed spouse. Two-income families are already tapped out. That's a very specious statement. The second income earner would have to begin a job search at a point when their secondary social network is weakest for that task. In addition, the primary income rarely goes down due to accident. It is more likely that the primary income goes down due to a area effect: big employer goes under, depression in the general economy, etc. These will make it even harder for the second income to come online.

bsder 11y ago

> 1. A second income earner can be brought in if something happens to the employed spouse. Two-income families are already tapped out. That's a very specious statement. The second income earner would have to begin a job search at a point when their secondary social network is weakest for that task. In addition, the primary income rarely goes down due to accident. It is more likely that the primary income goes down due to a area effect: big employer goes under, depression in the general economy, etc. These will make it even harder for the second income to come online.