We aren't martyrs, we are mothers

Amanda Marcotte post about homeschooling.

I’m quite aware that the concept of homeschooling is gaining some steam on the left, because it seems like it’s a good way to resist the problems with the public school system, particularly the issues of how the system prizes teaching compliant behavior over actual education, often to the point where one begins to think that kids are actually meant to get stupider in school.

Well at least she admits there are problems with the public schools. Her major beef with homeschooling?

why is it that the solutions to all these problems come back to asking women to provide more and more unpaid labor?

For all the hand-wringing concern in this article for the social lives of teenagers, the omission of even an ounce of concern for the right of a mother to have a life outside of child-rearing is suspiciously absent.

I am sure this will come as a shock to her but even homeschool moms have lives. For example I spent the morning getting my hair fixed then meet an old friend for a leisurely lunch at my favourite gourmet restaurant. I have several other "Mom Days" scheduled throughout the month, most of the other homeschool moms I know also make time for themselves. We aren't martyrs, we are mothers. True I don't get a pay check, but I have a roof over my head, a nice car and spending money, what else do you need? I also get to spend quality time with my kids and have the satisfaction of knowing they have the 'tools' they need to lead satisfying productive lives.