There's been a rising epidemic in the US. No, it's not obesity. It's not smoking. It's not our failing economy. It's homeschooling. Homeschooling, on paper, seems like a great idea, but let me tell you that in action homeschooling is anything but an ideal curriculum.
First and foremost, is the issue of socialization. Blind parents that home school often deny this; but you simply can't. With the job my father is in, I interact with tons of children that are homeschooled, and while they are all nice and respectful, I know that if they spent even a day in a real school, they would be torn apart. They simply lack the social skills needed to make it through life. While homeschooling does allow the parents to shield their children from temptations and potentially poor decisions, it also doesn't give the homeschooled child a mind of his or her own. The homeschooled child doesn't know how to deal with situations when they come up.
I distinctly remember one time I was with a homeschooled child about my age. We were just a little ways off from our parents; far enough that no one could tell we were affiliated with them, but close enough so they could see us. A group of skaters took a quick stop near us, and loudly and rudely began a conversation filled with cussing. Cussing is an obstacle in my day to day life. My personal friends cuss. But it's life, and while you can hint them on that you don't think cussing is cool, there certainly are wrong ways to handle the situation. The homeschooled child, having never seen a scenario like this, quickly walked over to them and condemned them, telling them not to say those words and how evil they were. Needless to say, I quickly dragged him away and into the relative safety near our parents, where the skaters were staring at us. I strongly believe that if I hadn't been there, he would have been beat up.
It's not that homeschooled impolite or shy. No, it's just the opposite. It's just that they've never had a chance to truly interact with others on a day to day basis; to truly be a kid. Thus, they can't relate to other children. Maybe other homeschooled children who lack that same social skills, but that's it. As they grow up in this solitary lifestyle, they'll never develop the maturity and understand the unspoken laws of society. They'll be shielded too much from society; I've seen it happen over and over. And when they finally head off to a public high school or college, they are torn apart. It's because their parents did a great disservice to them.
Education is important; but in almost all jobs, so is interaction. Gaining the favor of a boss or teacher can be extremely helpful; but on the flip side, gaining the disfavor can cause trouble. Nobody wants to be Toby from The Office; it can work against you in unforeseeable ways. Plus, several places don't uphold a homeschooled education. For example, one homeschooled girl I knew wasn't able to get a discount on auto insurance because her parents gave her the straight A grades that she got. Same goes for some schools as well; they just won't accept grades that the child received from their parents as well.
That might sound silly, but think about it. In a homeschooling environment, there's really no way to ensure that the test was accurately taken. Parents who home school obviously have such a high value for education, or morals, that they're willing to teach their children at home. As such, parents could have such a high aesthetic for their child's grades, that they're willing to give excess extra credit, help give answers to a test, etc. While not all homeschooled children have their parent's aid, the fact of the matter is that a 4.0 average from a public or private school is much, much more impressive than a 4.0 from any a home school.
Homeschooling does give you a ripe opportunity to shield your child from decisions, but in doing so you give up a lot of what your child could potentially become. You shield them from the rest of society, and as such the rest of society will have a harder time relating to him or her. I'm sorry to say that there is no best of both worlds; and I think overall, the benefits of public schooling outweigh the benefits of homeschooling.