I would like to add my voice to those who have home schooled their children successfully. I was a JW at the time, but I did not choose home schooling so that my children could pioneer quicker. I did it because I wanted to assume the responsibility for teaching my children instead of turning them over to the state to have that done for me. Another reason in my particular case was my own unhappy memories of school days. Children can be so mean to one another, and I did not want my children to have their spirits crushed by peer cruelty.
I want to answer some of the initial characterizations too. I home schooled in two different states, and in each, parents did not have to abide by any dictates from local school boards to teach according to one pedagogic philosophy or another, i.e., 'fully integrated' or 'disjointed'. Home schoolers operated under individual status as private schools, not under the rules or auspices of public schools.
Additionally, as far as parents giving their children the grades they deserve, I almost never gave my kids grades. They were not necessary. I knew intimately what my sons' levels of performance were in any given subject. I could move the boys ahead if they had mastered a skill or keep them working on it longer if needed. Grades may have some place in certain settings, but overall they are more destructive to the joy of learning than they are constructive or informative.
I did not teach my children from the JW literature. It does not promote the skills one goes to school to learn. I gathered materials that would have also been used in a classroom situation or made my own. On the other hand, neither did I have to teach everything myself. When my boys got to high school level, the local school district had become accepting enough of home schooling that they allowed my kids to attend a daily math class, while we did the rest of their schooling at home.
I agree with Roller Dave that isolating children in large peer groups does not promote natural socialization. I made an effort to see that my kids came into contact with all sorts of people. One result was that people often marvelled at how well the boys got along with and enjoyed the company of adults, something most children shy away from after years of peer immersion.
I will never say that home school is for everybody. It takes a lot of energy, dedication, and work. Some children may do well in it, and others may need the structure of the classroom. To me, the real issue is the freedom to make that choice. Some have seen poor results, but many have had success. It worked for us.
