Homeschooling (or home education here in the UK) done well IS living within society at large - it's school that's the artificial, caged environment.

People talk about school as though it were 'real life', but I disagree. I know a lot of formerly schooled people who have had a hard time transitioning from school into adult life.

My child, about to turn 21, was not only home educated, but autonomously chose his own path through learning.

He is extremely capable, academically and socially. In fact he always has been.

During his teens he attended a drama group and his teacher always said how mature, confident and well grounded he was - particularly compared to others of the same age group.

Of course we were not religious homeschoolers. They do tend to be a slightly different kettle of fish, to varying degrees. Not all are bad, but as with every human group, it's the extremist factions which make for homeschooling's bad rep to a large extent.