My parents did most of the teaching, with private music lessons and weekly co-op meetings (get-togethers with other homeschool families to socialize and swap e

My parents did most of the teaching, with private music lessons and weekly co-op meetings (get-togethers with other homeschool families to socialize and swap educational expertise - a parent who's a working chemist might run a chem class one semester, while another parent might do a painting class). By the time I was in high school, I was mostly teaching myself, going to my parents for help only when I was really stumped by something. For example, I did the equivalent of failing algebra twice, but there was no stigma or "can't math" track - my dad just started sitting down with me in the evenings when he got home from work to teach me, and I got it well enough after that. Socially, I was a shy, untrusting kid, in retrospect, largely because one of my family's main social circles imploded when I was in about third grade. That wasn't due to homeschooling per se, though, it was due to relationship dynamics and values conflicts between my parents and others. We found new circles and I always had friends growing up. I think I would have had a much tougher time socially and intellectually in a standard school environment. The way my psychology works and the experiences I've heard described by friends who went to public school have long made me grateful for my education. I also got to have much closer relationships with my parents and siblings than I think most US citizens get to have. Others have commented in this discussion about US school being all-day childcare so both parents can work, but our family spent tons of time together, which I'm also very grateful for. My wife and I are homeschooling our kids, for what it's worth. Our experiences definitely weren't perfect but we see a lot of value in investing in our kids this way.