I'd like to add something to the homeschooling or not debate that I
don't think has been mentioned yet.
If I were doing a study on the all-over effectiveness of homeschooling
versus public schooling (add private schooling, charter schools,
religious schools in there as well) for a research article on the
subject, I'd define effectiveness (possibly in terms of acceptance to
universities or ability to earn a living or scores on an exam or a
psychological measure of happiness or some such). Then I'd gather up
examples of students who had been homeschooled and students who had gone
to public schools (randomly selected examples) and compare how they
rated against my measure of effectiveness. When that data was in, I'd
consider variables since the children of good readers are usually good
readers however they're educated, and those with learning disabilities
often have learning disabilities as well, again, regardless of schooling.
And all that would be more or less useless since none of that is the
question that parents face.
Parents (presumably) are trying to figure out what's best for their own
kids. They look at the schools that are available in their own area,
not wild averages of what the schools are like all over the country.
They consider their own effectiveness for their own children. They
consider what the parents (usually the mother) might else be doing with
their time and how much she'd like homeschooling. They consider their
strengths and weaknesses. They consider their own children as
individuals and what would be best for them.
--Lia