What would you make of the statement , Anyone can afford for one child to go to private school, it's wether they choose to or not !

[mummyloveslucy]

Hi, my daughter is in a nursery attached to a private school. I've made friends with one of the mums and we meet up etc, our husbands went to school together too.
Recently she came out with the statement when talking about the school fees, that anyone can afford one child to go to private school, it's wether they choose to make the sacrifices though. She said it's much harder for her as she has two. I only have one child and I'm probubly going to have to take her out after nursery and put her in to a state primary.
I really don't agree with this comment and especially now when every 11 seconds someone has there home re-posesed.
She comes from a wealthy family and her husband has his own buisness so she probubly dosn't have much of a clue. I just don't want her to think that of us, if we have to take our daughter out. We would move heven and earth for her to stay, as she is so happy and it's fantastic for for her.
I don't feel I know her well enough to challenge that comment but at the same time I want to let her know that this simply isn't the case.

By "everyone" she means rich people. Poor people aren't included in "everyone" in her eyes.

By "anyone" she means anyone who has a household income or savings well above the average for UK ! Maybe "anyone" in her circle she would assume has that choice and presumably most do, by self selection !

It's tedious to go through all the exceptions.

Clearly, it means that someone who is not working could go into employement and command a high enough wage - in a family that is already subsisting.

It doesn't mean that it is applicable to every single family in the country.

When the OP mentioned choice, she meant people who are able to exercise a choice. If we talk about something being a choice, we are only referring to people who actually are able to make that choice, not people that aren't.

*employment

I think in this case anyone is "anyone who is anyone".

I must be nobody then!

ah well!

me too. A nobody.

quote from OP as to what this other woman said 'that anyone can afford one child to go to private school, it's wether they choose to make the sacrifices though.'

and the answer to that is....no they can't.

In that case, I must be a no body too.
I'm sure she dosn't really think that.

You are looking into it too much. Someone says something and someone reproduces her interpretation onto mumsnet.

Whether someone chooses something implies that they are able to choose.

If they are unable to choose, they are not on the radar screen of that particular discussion.

Another way of looking at the private school choice thing is not whether they are able to choose but whether they would want to choose. There are clearly many, many people in this country who are able to afford private education, but are not willing to.

The subsector of the population are those who fret over it. That means that it is concerning those who value private education and do the 'can I/can't I' routine. The OP's friend is probably thinking that if you are fretting about it, then you probably can (by making appropriate sacrifices and/or going back to work).