and to answer the question, yes I do support home schooling, or whatever method gives the child the best education. Home schooling executed correctly, does NOT avoid social interaction with other kids. Check out the reccommendations of any home-school curriculum supplier, and you will see that they encourage participation in community sports or other social activities.
They do, to a certain point. Where I went to high school, I had several friends that I knew through church, that were homeschooled. They had their homeschool group, which was great, one parent would teach something, another would teach something else, etc. They did many extracurricular activities, and did indeed participate in some sports programs.
However, in many areas, the community sports programs tend to dissappear as a kid reaches the high school age, due to the encouragement to participate in HS sports. I've lived in several different states, and they all seemed to be the same way. Pop Warner football led into HS football, there was a gap between little league, and mens softball, where if yo uwanted to play, it was pretty much expected that you'd play on a HS team, etc. And of course, you are talking about a whole different ball game. Most community sports leagues are more for fun, whereas in HS, it tends to be a bit more competitive, you usually have bigger fans, potential to be scouted after HS, etc. All of these I think are good things.
Another disadvantage is that the home school groups, while participating in their extracurricular activities, usually only interact with each other, or other similarly minded home school groups. I don't believe you can have a well adjusted social learning experience if you are solely surrounded by others of the same mindset. IMO, you need the challenge of getting along with someone of a different financial, social, and religious background. There are obstacles and issues that arise, and that will continue to arise, throughout school an in adulthood. I have seen very few homeschoolers deal with these issues very well.
