It is time that homeschoolers stop defending homeschooling. Instead we should be asking some pointed questions
I homeschool and feel like I am on the defense so much of the time that it wears away at my confidence. Even when people compliment my children on their behavior/knowledge, they quickly follow it up with 'but what about (insert socialization, friends, test-taking, etc...) They are just unwilling to ever admit that there is another way to educate children other than government school. Sometimes they point out how much schools spend per child and say they must be doing something with all that money to give them a great education Hello? Ever heard of teacher's unions/free health care/pensions for life at 55? I think what it really comes down to is an inability or unwillingness to think outside the box.
They won't think outside of the box because they feel guilty. Most modern parents simply aren't willing to make the commitment to homeschool. Some are truly unable, but most are unwilling, and the ugly little secret is that a lot of parents love their children but don't like their children and really don't want to be around them all day. I've actually had people admit that to me. One woman said it in front of her child, much to my horror.
There's a whole lot of bad parenting out there, and a whole lot of me, me, ME that doesn't make for clear thinking. The fact that you're willing to sacrifice money and time when they're not makes some people feel guilty, and to make themselves feel better they come up with the most ridiculous justifications, like "school is a great place for a child to be socialized." Those who think children will be better socialized in a rigid, institutional, conformist setting by paid strangers rather than a flexible, home setting by the people who love them most aren't thinking, they're feeling.
I've been homeschooling for six years, and I also get frequent compliments on my childrens' behavior, usually right before the socialization question. Most people don't see the irony in that because they're just not creative thinkers. That's their problem, not mine.
You're following the "road less traveled," so you're going to take some flak from unthinking conformists. Let it roll off.
The teachers that students have DO teach them a few things. One problem is that the school system is more interested in the process of schooling than in the content of the courses. Let me rephrase that. It is more concerned about indoctrination in attitudes than in the inculcation of academic knowledge or the empowerment of individuals in society. I might say that their concerns are more ideological than educational. Boardly speaking that ideology is liberal and secular.
In the end, the joke is on them.