All three of Keilah's members have been touched by home schooling. Travis and Cannon were home schooled most of their lives and Austin and his wife home school their two children. Home schooling is certainly not the only way for families to establish close, supportive ties, but it is one way and it is a way that we are glad we have had an opportunity to experience.

As the children of home schooling parents, we have been able to see our parents as devoted to our welfare and to seeing us develop into the best people we can be, giving us their time, their talents, and their love, putting us ahead of their own ambitions. To be able to see that your parents love you more than they love themselves is an enormously powerful experience and changes completely the way you view your parents. As home schooling parents, we have had the chance to see those magic moments, those AHA! experiences as our children master new concepts and step away from us into their own individuality. Home schooling children and home schooling parents are a remarkable lot and we honor you.

I home schooled when my kids were infants and toddlers. They cried at first when I left them for two hours at a preschool, two days a week. They laugh about it now. I home schooled in the evenings, on weekends, and during summer vacations. I still do.
I spent 12 years at an all-white, small Catholic school in the suburbs.
My kids attend a very large, diverse public school that encompasses urban, sububan and rural areas. They interact with teachers and students of different races, backgrounds and religions. My son is in college now and tells me that he is so glad that he didn't attend a private school. My daughter has so many opportunities in music, sports, clubs, dances, and advanced courses that I am not qualified to teach. She loves going to school.
My sister lives in a different school district in Pennsylvania that doesn't offer much and has severe discipline problems. Her daughter was afraid to go to school. She has been home schooling her daughter with the help of the computer and the internet.

I believe in home-schooling too (and I am one of those "dirty godless liberals" lol.)

But there is also a benefit to public schools in that kids learn social interaction firsthand.

Perhaps a good balance would be to home-school for the early ages, then off to public school at the Jr. High or High School level.

Honestly, we fretted about the same thing, that the children would become too comfortable in an insular, unchallenged existence; that the adults would become intellectually limited and stultified. As it turned out, the universe of home school families is as diverse as any other assemblage of folks. The one thing we all shared was a dedication to learning. Social interaction opportunities are not limited to the school room and separating children into age groups in fact limits the breadth of their social experience. Mixing age groups, income levels, and faith orientations (as you note, not all home schoolers are Christians)in some other place than a class room is as challenging an experience as any class room can offer. It just turned out to be a very good experience for Keilah's members.