You know...I'm just going to say a few things partly regarding this and partly my own thoughts and then back out. I KNOW this is one of the few subjects that can really get me riled up, and I'd rather not go there. ;-)
First of all, though I know there ARE good schools out there, I would say the public schools in this area are more about indoctrination than they are about education. They teach more about "social issues" than they do about literature, mathematics, writing, etc. Their whole goal is to turn out good little (liberal) citizens. Many of the public universities are more of the same. (And not just the public ones, for that matter.)
I have very strong opinions on higher education, which I know are not shared by the vast majority of Americans, so I usually don't bring them up. But I'll be darned if I'm going to pay tens of thousands of dollars to an institution that supports programs and causes that go against everything I believe in just so I can get a piece of parchment that says I've taken classes in something I can learn on my own! Yes, it does give me proof...but I'm not willing to pay that much for proof. I don't need it in my present career field, and I would be unlikely to find a really good job in the fields I would LIKE to study - music, mostly. Nor would I really want to do that as a career. If I want to learn about one particular thing, I'll take a class or read up on it, but I have no desire to go to university to do so.
I have no problem with that Rosie. Not everyone has to go to college. But I think you're an exception.
If you decide to homeschool your kids, I know from our conversations here, that you'll prepare yourself first and not just assume you can do it because you went to school. Am I making any sense with that?
As for higher education, I went to a private Christian school and am hoping my kids will do the same. But I also trust some of the public universities and depending on their field of study, I wouldn't mind if my boys went there.
LOL! Sir SuziQ has a PhD in Statistics, but still jokes that a lot of kids would be better off if their parents gave them the money that would have been spent on a college degree and let them learn a trade and start their own businesses! He considers the whole college scene today, with a few exceptions, to be a racket! If you 're in a field that requires some actual research, that's one thing, but for just Liberal Arts, unless you have to get a teaching certificate or you're using it as a stepping stone to a professional degree, it is sometimes a waste, especially if you go to a big name, big bucks college. Our oldest got a full 4 yr. scholarship to a state school, so decided not to go to either of the other two schools to which he was accepted because he realized he's have to be paying loans back FOREVER! Now he's decided to go to Law School, but at least he'll only be in hock for that! Our second son didn't get any scholarships, but was accepted into the Computer Science School at Carnegie Mellon. It is probably the BEST school in the country for CS, and he knew that, so that's why he applied. He may get a Master's, he may not. He doesn't think a PhD will be of any greater help unless he wants to get a job at a University. But he'll get out of college with a real skill which will earn him some big bucks, and which he just LOVES.
I was reading in my "This Old House" magazine yesterday that the tradespeople are beginning to worry because there are so few younger people going into those jobs. Because of that, it will take longer to get jobs done because there will be so few people doing them. It seems that would be a great skill for kids who aren't interested in higher ed., but want a good paying job. If a lot of dollars are chasing fewer workers, those people will be able to charge MORE for their services! They'd probably make MORE money than their friends who did go to college!