You remind me of Steve. I'm sure he feels the same way!
We are heading into about our 14th year of home schooling. Several years ago we started following some of the writings of Charlotte Mason and have found our children have just gone head and shoulders above their peers. Our 19 year old daughter just finished her sophomore year at Georgetown College (NOT University) with a 4.0 average. She has been accepted for an exchange program at Oxford University next spring to study Shakespeare for 6 months. Even though she is receiving a formal college education which is nice, we are finding that it is not "that" important. What is important is to raise children that are God fearing and have strong family and Christian values. Children that will be good strong citizens to carry on the traditions of this nation. Children that know and understand how this country operates through a study of civics. We just purchased a book "Teaching the Trivium" which helps to outline Christian Homeschooling in a Classical Style. We just finished reading Ivanhoe as a family and then watched the movie series. Our children then wrote reports on the values shown by each of the characters. How many public school children that are 10 years old do this? I dare say not many.
I could go on and on about the advantages of a good home education but will not. I just pray each day that America's fathers will wake up, open their eyes to the feminization of the workplace and how that effects our education system, government and way of life. Without that awakening, the future of their children is bleak.