...taking this thread in another direction...
I was home-schooled, and thank God I was. I was a difficult child, to say the best, and I can't imagine how public school would exacerbate my (then) naturally rebellious behavior. I was in public school right up until the second grade, when my mom decided she couldn't live with the thought of being glad to see us leave every morning.
I distinctly remember the afternoon we came home from school, my sisters and I, and our mom sat on the porch, with her hands laced in a contemplative knot over her knees. She told us that we wouldn't be returning to school the next day; that we were going to be taught at home from now on.
I remember she watched "Helen Keller" with us, and video taped us re-enacting it. Then she tied dishtowels over our eyes and had us to practice being blind and deaf for an hour, to understand what it was like being Helen Keller. That may not sound like fun, but at seven years old, it was an amazing learning experience, and I loved it!
I can't even begin to relate the sacrifice she made to educate myself and seven siblings over the next two decades, but I can tell you how grateful I am that she did. We started school at 8:00 A.M., and finished by 12:00. I had individual and attentive help and coaching through all of my subjects, and lots of time for social activities after school. We attended co-ops with other home-schoolers, I took dance lessons, made movies with my friends, learned sign language, played softball, participated in local community theatre programs, took a two year graphic design course in one year at a vo-tech school, held down two jobs and went to college at sixteen on a honors student program. My scores were significantly higher than my classmates on standardized testing.
The entire experience (being home-schooled, attending vo-tech, and attending college) has really been eye opening on its own, and I want my children to have that attentive and individual teaching that I had. That I needed.
I am so grateful my parents were so instrumental and influential in my life; it's been amazing so far and I want to pass that on.
I guess what I'm explaining is that after my experiences, I can't imagine doing it any other way. I've had a little of both worlds, and while homeschooling is not for everyone, if you can, it is rewarding in a way you can't even begin to imagine.
(Had a little vodka before writing this, so pardon any mistakes, lol)