I think the "socialization" argument is over-stated. (How about that, zombieslayer, you and I disagreeing twice in one week?) I agree with John Taylor Gatto and others: American primary/secondary education's primary function is to create conforming, deferential, superficially-thinking citizens. It is no accident that most high school graduates cannot see the absolute poverty of current political discourse and well on the way to Me!Me!Me! life. The accident is that anyone at all comes out of that system otherwise.
Moreover, the great myth is that homeschooling is just "the child and his parent(s)." Well-designed home-schooling has at least as much productive socialization (other kids, other adults, as the typical public school.
If one is lucky to go to a top tier school, the school education can of course be much better, particularly in high school. But let's not fool ourselves. The gap between those top schools and the typical public school is huge and getting bigger all the time.
I do agree with zombieslayer's point about the importance of challenging the young person. And, unfortunately, unless, again, one is at one of those top schools, most public schools don't challenge the young anything near enough. How can they? Most of the people who teach in public schools were ed majors in college. They're conscientious, they're well-socialized, they're hard-working -- but they are
not often the ones who are going to do what it takes to challenge individual students.
And even if they want to, the system is going to do everything it can to prevent them from providing those challenges. They're going to have student caseloads that are far too big, and far too many other constituencies (can you say athletics that now start in the early primary grades!) to be satisfied.
Julie, if I had kids -- which I don't, which I won't, and which I don't want to have, because I'm not that kind of responsible -- I would strongly lean toward homeschooling at least until 9th grade. I've encountered homeschooled kids in my college classrooms many times, and they are invariably at the top in the terms of self-discipline, commitment, and maturity.
AND they are at the top regarding their social/people skills as well. It doesn't matter whether they were homeschooled in a deeply fundamentalist religious household, or a liberal, highly educated and socially conscious one. They tend to be more ready for college than your typical public school kid. And it doesn't matter whether youre comparing them with public school kids from "at risk" households or with the ones who come from affluent suburban professional households.
Of course, the reason why homeschooled kids tend to be so good is that the parents doing and organizing the homeschooling put in a lot of time. Homeschooled children tend to have a lot more free time and time to create/challenge themselves, but they also tend to have a lot more one-on-one or tutorial type time.
That's really the biggest reason against homeschooling -- does the parent(s), either working alone or with other homeschooling families, have the time to commit to the kids' education. Homeschooling isn't something that can be done after work and on weekends. It isn't something to work around the job(s). You don't have to be an expert (or even "good" at the subjects the student is learning. But you do have to be available, and available a lot. And you have to take responsibility for choosing the curriculum, for organizing field trips and interaction with other home schoolers or other parts of the community. Between their employers' expectations and their own career aspirations, most parents simply won't be able/willing to make that commitment.
IMO
And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
Romans 12:2 (NKJV)