I feel that the school is not what causes a child to stray from the church. It is the heart. I am still truly faithful to my church, I serve every Sunday, I read my bible daily, on top of having straight A's this year.
Public School teaches us how to stand up for what we believe and learn to grow up in a wordly (non-babied) environment that prepares us to rely on our heavenly father to overcome that rude kid at school or that Evolution Exam. Public school has saved money for my family so that my family can vacation together and bond with eachother.

So I am so for Public Schools and believe 100% that children can live a full Christian life attending one.

I very well may homeschool my children someday. I just hope I wouldn't turn into the homeschool moms I've met with superiority complexes. I've met a few who have looked down upon families who don't homeschool as though they are making poor choices and disobeying God. "Judge not, lest ye be judged."

PS: If your children eventually swear occasionally, please don't freak out. I've been swearing since fifth grade, but realize it's ridiculous and do my best not to. People mostly grow out of it by high school. I think it's at that point they remember the existence of adjectives.

Personally, we found homeschooling to be better on many levels (academically, socially, and spiritually for sure…I might even be able to make a case for physically). However, I would argue that how WELL a choice ends up working for someone is not the ideal basis for decision making for a Christian. Our foundation needs to be what Scripture teaches. We should be asking if there is an more obedient choice or if there is a disobedient choice.

I first thought all three choices were reasonably biblical – that this was a simple matter of Christian liberty. But the more exposure I had to what the public school is about (my Master's degree is in education) the more my opinion changed. I kept noticing that the public school is NOT neutral on the subject of Jesus Christ. It has taken a definitive stand on the subject. His name will NOT be exalted. His kingdom will NOT be furthered by its efforts. And if anyone attempts to do so in the public school, there will be legal consequences.

As Christians we are called to train our children up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. There is an irresolvable tension here. I think many people who desire to follow God sense that same tension. It could even be the source of some of the guilt feelings. If we feel guilty because we fear some person will not approve of our decision, we need to ignore the guilt. If, however, that person is God, that's an entirely different situation.

I had the experience of going to private conservative Christian schools for K-1st grade in Cleveland. I did not fit in at all because I was brought up differently than many of the other kids (I read at a sixth-grade level when I was five years old, and my parents had tutored me in advanced subjects before starting school, so I was kind of a nerd). The teachers didn't know what to do with me, so I got in trouble a lot…once for talking with the other kids about "getting a career."

So my parents pulled me out and sent me to Catholic schools, which I attended until graduating high school, mostly in Detroit. The private Catholic schools were slightly better, but I didn't fit in, primarily because of looking different than the other kids (a chubby red-haired black kid in homogeneous schools), and because I started to develop social anxiety. So private schools = nice kids was total crap in my case.

I was the "good" kid through same-sex high school that got a lot of crap for it from the other girls. Many of these same kids ended up pregnant or in homosexual relationships. For my part, I was pretty much agnostic, and decided that I would go to public university because I didn't want any part of religion. So I found the biggest one I could find – Ohio State – go Buckeyes! – and that's where I found and came to Christ.

My 16-year-old brother went to private Protestant and Catholic schools and was relentlessly bullied. Then he went to public charter school in seventh grade, and the bullying virtually stopped. He's now in a neighborhood public high school, and he's doing well socially. He's also a serious Christian, and his on-fire and public faith hasn't been a problem there.

I also substitute-taught in a public school system for a while a year and a half ago up in MI, and one thing that impressed me was that, for the most part, the kids were accepting of each other's differences. I rarely came across meanness or bullying.

When considering my own experiences in school, as well as that of my brother and my fiance (who had similar experiences to what I had growing up), I will probably send my future children to public schools. Of course, I will have to take an active role teaching our kids about faith, but isn't that the parents' job anyway? Besides, I want to allow my kids the socialization that school outside the home provides, but without the effect of having the "faith" inside of private religious schools leading my kids away from any faith in Christ.

We've had some eyebrows raised at our schooling choices, but all I can say is that I am glad that I already know Christ because the so-called Christian schools (at least 5 of them in our area) refused to be Christ to us in our time of need. Some of them were quite rude to us when we inquired about enrolling our son. Another friend of mine actually enrolled her daughter in a "Christian" private school, but the daughter got kicked out because she has learning disabilities (although she is very smart as well). She was scared to death about sending her daughter to a public school because of all the bad things she had heard, but was quite surprised to find that the public school was a good school giving a good education.

Either way, it's not the school's responsibility to make sure these children grow up to know Jesus; it's ours as their parents.

I met more real people, who were way more serious about their faith at the public school than the private one.

It's like the ones at a the private thought they already knew all they needed to know. I didn't grow in my faith at all there. My experience with a private Christian school, was backstabbing. I've never had more enemies. The school board plotted to fire a teacher that didn't let the parents walk all over her. My ears and memory have proof of the terrible, fake things they said.

Now with homeschooling, I don't have to deal with people I don't want to deal with.

I don't have to engage with people who I don't get along with.

My social life is my church family and a few other handful of friends. Most of my friends are at the church though. I like it that way. 99.9% of them are serious about it and I enjoy spending time with them.

Tl;dr? I've experience all three options. There were fake people more so at the private school than the public. I adore homeschooling.

Yeah.
Heh, I liked this. It was well-written and very true.