Many families with strict religious beliefs home school their children. The way things are nowadays in public schools I might seriously consider it if I had school aged children. Maybe.

I think alot depends on how the children have been raised and taught at home before they enter school. Plus, the parent doing the teaching has to be a stay-at-home parent. Also, just because a child is home-schooled doesn't mean the parent doing the teaching is qualified.....or has better morals and standards than a public school teacher. If little Johnny is taught by a Mom or Dad who's dishonest or otherwise has no ethical conscience then being home schooled probably isn't going to benefit him.

Our local newspaper just ran an article on home schooling and it was very positive. These kids don't just stay cooped up inside the house all day. There is a home school "society" that is very tightly bound and they have all kinds of social events for their kids. It's definitely a full-time job for whichever parent does the schooling. I agree that it's very sheltering and protects these kids from the more urban element that the public schooled kids see. But, in some ways, that's not so bad. I think we can teach our kids how to be safe out in public without overexposing them to more information than they need. Believe me, they're going to hear about stuff from their friends no matter how sheltered a life they live.