The benefit was mostly one of providing a jig for hire that helped relieve students of the burden of self-regulation. It also helped to relieve parents of the burden of discipline. Parental authority was a central target of the sixties counterculture. Now we want to be our children’s best friends, and this is easier if you can outsource the discipline. Disciplining children is one of the most thankless tasks in a marriage, and a persistent source of resentment between many spouses. Thank God for professional help—especially if the legal and cultural barriers to divorce are low.
