Personally we opted out for a long time. Our oldest was not liking 1st grade, the homework was dumb, I was writing snarky comments to the teacher correcting her grammar and grilling her on the purpose of the work. Around the time, we opted out of the System and did about 7 years of homeschooling, which was partly unschooled, part free ranging, part mixing with other families, part homemade curriculum. I was opposed in part at the time, not so much for the kids, who I thought were probably benefitting, but because of all the income we were foregoing from my wife not working fulltime. In retrospect, it was an awesome, unusual, somewhat expensive for us at least childhood experience to give them. They never quite bought into the school bullshit, the pecking order, the brand status, the peer pressure, because by the time we reintroduced them into normal reality in high school, we had already had them alone all that time to brainwash them into our reality. Long range, nothing they might have done in elementary school was omitted by us, and academically they were probably “ahead” of their peers, as if that has any meaning. Later they did great in high school, probably because their minds weren’t all encrusted with allt he nonsense and bs of modern schooling. They had an outsider’s amused viewpoint, and there was no “drama” from any of them. I think it’s probably wrong to say parents are “choosing” to be stressed out an dinflict that financial stress and anxiety on their kids ina freemarket sense. I’d say it’s more likely that they perceive themselves to be in a desperate struggle to ensure their kids don’t fall off the economic ladder, and with limited information, knowledge and no tolerance for error, are doing what they think in their deluded state is best. Seems intuitive to me that for long term mental health and success, it’s flat out wrong, but everybody does what they think is best. I’m pretty sure we could’ve done better, but I cant really judge parents for trying to inflict all kind of mental anguish ont heir kids. Moms and dads have been pinning their hopes and fears on their young charges since time immemorial, so now is really no different than the past. Just based on my high strung nature, it seem slike less pressure, more exploration, would lead to more thoughtfulness and better mental processing. But it’s not exactly a science, or an economics problem, this raising of children. More of a labor of love performed in an unconscious backdrop theatre of terror. don’t think of them as “winners” or “losers”, but humans given the best opportunity I could to have them be calm, stable, thoughtful, interested humans.
