Here is an interesting discussion that took place between several moms: (Oldest posts at the bottom)

I think you are right on all accounts. I could afford to quit work and homeschool my kids but we would all be miserable.

Sent from my iPhone

On Mar 11, 2011, at 7:55 PM, "Momma" wrote:

>  
>
> I can't imagine what would happen without a public school system. For many people, single moms and dads, it's a free babysitter. I wonder what my mom would have done when I was growing up if she couldn't have worked. Then you would have more people on public assistance. That would be a whole other problem.
> I know some families that send their kids to public school who should NOT homeschool. Not every family situation is condusive to homeschooling. I think their kids are better off in public school so that at least they have some stability.
> I do homeschool and I do have a child with special needs. Not all children with disabilities are taken care of in public schools. My dd was not. After 2 years of them fumbling around I took her out. I felt that if they couldn't handle her disabilities I would handle it myself. It was scary but I felt I had no choice. For my dd's sake I had to do something. As a homeschooler they will provide some services but when the alloted money runs out, which could be in the middle of the year, she would loose those services. It's just not worth it.
> "The system" couldn't accomodate my kids (one special needs and one gifted), but that doesn't mean it doesn't work for other kids. I agree that the system is broken and that's why we homeschool, but for some I think the alternative would be nothing at all.
> Aubrey
>  
>  

>      
>
>     The world was much less technologically advanced before the 20th century. My grandfather was a farmer in North Dakota and Minnesota. He never finished 6th grade and my grandmother never finished 8th grade. I don't think you could compare their educational requirements at age 18-19 to what an 18-19 year old is required to be able to know today.
>      
>     There are high school programs that expose students to health careers and provide the opportunity to graduate with medical certification and the ability to contribute immediately in the workplace.
>      
>     It is a broken system, but most things are that involve this many layers of bureaucracy are.
>
>      
>     Emily May
>
>
>      
>     I  support ending public school all together. Mandatory public education is a relatively new phenomenon in human history and has progressed from bad to worse. Some states in the US did not initiate compulsory education until the 20th century. We keep pouring more money into a broken system while outcomes continue to deteriorate.  I would love to see a return to personal responsibility for feeding and educating our children rather than relying on our neighbors or the government to do so.  I don’t know why anyone would think that they were entitled to a share of someone else’s earnings. We were not a society of idiots before the introduction of compulsory public education so there is no reason to believe that we would be if it were eliminated. Those seeking knowledge will always find it and those uninterested in education will never learn with our without public school.
>      
>      
     
>      
>
>     Very well put. I concur.
>

>
>     You have to take into account teacher salaries as well as caring for special needs children. I think we all agree it's for the best interest of society to educate our children. ALL children. When you homeschool and tell yourself you're spending a lot less than that $9,000, you aren't taking into account the actual home you're in when you do the teaching, nor the salary that you would pay yourself. Teachers don't work for free even though you may with your own children when you home school.
>
>     It takes a lot of money to care for and feed (yes it's staggering how many children do not get a good lunch except for those served at school, which are subsidized by the government) millions of children.
>
>     Even if you don't have children in public schools, you still are obligated to pay for the education of the masses. And the education needs to be quality. The movie "Idiocracy" comes to mind. If we fail to properly educate our society, we become a society of idiots and that's not good for anyone, home-schooled, private-schooled, or public-schooled. When you end up in the hospital at the age of 80 and need a staff of competent doctors to care for you, chances are you'll be treated by people who were educated in the public school system. Don't you want them to have had the best education they could have?
>
>     --- In mailto:MomsofNB%40yahoogroups.com, Angela Lehane wrote:
>     >
>     > I know that I may be chastised for my comments, but I cannot ignore the elephant in the room. I followed the link to the site to read up on what is happening. The website, www.savetxschools.com says that texas spends $9,227 per student. I am floored. I then went to my district's site (SCUCISD) and read about the proposed budget cuts. I am still trying to swallow $9,227 per child. My daughter went to a private school for less than half of that. From what I've seen, there is plenty of room for reducing spending in our district. If it can't be done, the government should allow a private school voucher program.
>     > Â
>     > Sincerely,
>     > Â
>     > Angela