Another homeschooling mom recently told me she attended a “relaxed” or “unschooling” networking group. She said it was primarily a social event as opposed to any information exchange between the parents. She also mentioned the afternoon get-together was held at a private home and how “nice” (translation: big and expensive) the place was. This wasn’t the first time that “nice” has been used to describe a homeschooler’s house.
With pure jealousy, bitter intent but sincere curiosity, I gotta ask—who’s paying for all this swag? Well, I’m gonna jump to the conclusion that, since most of these women don’t work outside the home, their husbands are the ones out there in the trenches digging themselves into early graves. And, gee, what kind of jobs would allow them to single-handedly bankroll these McMansions? Well, I’m gonna venture another guess and say whatever it is, I suspect it’s a career based on a solid, structured, traditional education. Basically everything unschooling isn’t.
How can a doctorial candidate write his thesis if he’s never learned how to organize a proper paragraph? You’re not gonna move up in military rank if you can’t take and follow out orders. And you certainly won’t earn those annual bonuses unless you’re willing to put on a suit and become a cog in the corporate wheel. These are the type of mindsets on which many homeschoolers frown.
So while hubby is working in that “sit down, shut up and do what I tell you” public school mindset carried over into the business world, Mom and the kids are acting on their whims in a freewheelin’ world where nobody tells them what to do. How does that make Dad feel? Does he even know his kids are being home educated? Do you think there are men out there who think their kids get on/off a school bus everyday? At this stage of the game, nothing would surprise me.
If a husband with a six-figure salary enjoys his career and all the accouterments that it buys, does he worry about what his unschooled kids are “going to be when they grow up?” Does he resent that they aren’t preparing to following in his footsteps? And why would they want to? I’ve been in homes when Dad walks through the door, nobody even notices. Do his kids realize that’s the guy who’s making their lifestyle possible? What must that poor man be thinking?
Or does Dad envy their unschoolers’ freedom but accepts it comes with a price? And who’s the one really paying for it? I just hope he’s taken out alotta life insurance…