Okay, I'll change my comment- I think homeschooling is attractive to people who fit into one of these categories (a) they can't move into a good public school district, for whatever reason, (b) they can't afford a private school, or (c) neither public school or pivate school is attractive to them, for whatever reason. I can understand that, though my family does not fall into any of those categories.
I have NEVER met any publicly schooled children who play well with my children.
That's unfortunate. I've met plenty of publicly schooled kids, including my two cousins, who were prefectly nice.
No matter how expensive or well-funded any private school is, it still involves the herd-mentality, using standards of measuring achievement that don’t adequately evaluate skills sets or capacities for development.
I disagree. Good private schools do a great job of meeting each individual student's needs. There is also the social aspect- the private school I went to has led to a lot of lifetime connections that have served me well in my professional and social life.
Private schools can be great — I absolutely agree. My sisters and I grew up in one. Again, it’s not even close to what we offer our children to home teach them. As for “socialization” — homeschooled children are offered this in a unique and effective way as well. My children don’t have sibling rivalry because they KNOW each other so well, spending time getting to play and learn together. And homeschooling associations / coops are growing in number, so they have many playmates with whom they are building lasting friendships that will likely last a lifetime.
Maybe one day I’ll meet non-homeschooled children who can play nice with mine. I don’t doubt they’re out there. All the same — we’re loving our life as a homeschooled family, despite the many sacrifices I make (as a single parent at home with them).