<p>pg: Well, that’s fine, if that’s what works.</p>
<p>We are in a tiny town. The graduating class at the HS was only 80 both years my kids graduated. I’m not sure someone can opt out, even if s/he wants to.</p>
<p>The mommy wars aren’t fierce here, so it’s a moot point here. We have three hospitals in a four mile radius and Brookhaven National Labs within a ten mile radius. We also have a major university four miles away.</p>
<p>So we have women scientists, professors, doctors. We also have SAHM doctors wives, scientists’ wives and professors’ wives. Of course, there are people doing other things, too. We are lucky that everyone gets a long, and everyone seems focused on the well being of the kids.</p>
<p>No lifts an eyebrow if a woman is off at a conference halfway around the world and no one lifts an eye brow if a woman has kids in for milk and cookies every day.</p>
<p>I do think it made raising the kids really nice that this amount of tolerance and cooperation existed.</p>
<p>Because there were so few kids in the graduating class, there were no class divisions and little academic competition. Jocks were friends with musicians (often the same people, sports teams and orchestras needed to be staffed) and there is a lot of personal choice.</p>
<p>I do think it improved life that we could all cooperate. Maybe not be a lot, but definitely perceptibly. Is that necessary for a happy life? No. But it was very welcome.</p>