I agreed with John's view that children are unique and should not be treated as cookie cutter kids, as they are in government school classes. Certainly children do learn some things on their own, but their often roundabout way of going at learning is not necessarily the best way to learn. It's good to take into account the child's genuine interests when planning a curriculum and to build as much as possible around what the child wants to learn about, but there are some topics that may be deemed essential by the parents that the child isn't too keen on at first. Many homeschoolers avoid directly instructing their children because they associate this with teaching in the schools - something they consider a negative thing. Those who would avoid all instruction assuming that their children are better off left to their own devices instead of being taught by a caring, thoughtful parent are, in my view, doing a disservice to their children.
Parents have a vested interest in truly helping their children learn and grow.
Love and care goes far when it comes to learning the art of teaching. I believe that children greatly benefit from a thoughtful teacher who can present essentialized knowledge to them in a meaningful, hierarchical fashion. Parents are in the best position to teach their kids because they know their children intimately, and can enrich the child's learning with real-life examples. In my view, there is no reason not to teach a child and every reason to teach. This tends to afflict those homeschoolers who tend to do a great deal of teaching in the home.