escape artist, I homeschooled my 19 year old son. He had been in a private elementary school until junior high. I started homeschooling him from the 7th grade on. He started being bullied and constantly being picked on by a group of boys. The school authorities were notified but didn't do anything. He wouldn't stand up for himself and defend himself. He went to therapy to learn how to stand up for his rights. One day this group of boys started beating him. He even ended up with a broken foot. Well, he finally stood up to these bullies and he gets in trouble, along with the bullies, with the school authorities. This was my breaking point with the public school system. This was part of the public school's zero tolerance policy. There is no "grey" area! Another thing I didn't like about the public school system was teachers teaching to the "standardized tests". It seemed to me, the teachers were more concerned with their students passing the "standarized" tests than ensuring the students were actually learning.
You wrote "God knows I have plenty of desks in my house!" Part of learning that education is fun and a lifelong adventure is not conducted at a desk, but actually the doing and visiting the historical monuments, shows, museums, and thinking out of the box. Doing the things that the public school system doesn't have the money or time to do!
Home schooled children won the first-ever GSN National Vocabulary Championship. This garnered the winner $40,000 towards his college education. A homeschooler won a $50,000 scholarship as one of the "best of the best" in the Intel International Science & Engineering Fair. A homeschooler won the National Geographic Bee. My son has had no problems gaining employment.
Home schooling is more than just a commitment......but it's a life style change!
I suggest you make a list of the pros and cons of what home schooling would mean to you and your children!
There are a lot of ways to teach socializing to children, like Co-ops, and play groups. I'm just not sure you really want your children to socialize with every child in the public school system.
Just my personal opinion. Take what you like and leave the rest.
Phoenix