In any period of rapid social change, like we are now experiencing, society seems to split between those who focus on meeting tomorrow s challenges vs. those who work hard to protect the traditions of the past.
Quakers tend to be part of the first group.
The recent increase in home schooling is, I suspect, an adaptive response to perceived change in what is needed to prepare our children to successfully meet the challenges of adulthood in our time. Before the Internet, specialized information was a primary need for advanced education. Now everything you could possibly want to know is immediately available on the Internet to anyone. While public schools have been reluctant to teach values and relational skills, schools like Scattergood, sponsored by value based groups have been better at adapting to this increasingly recognized need. While home schooling probably does a good job of communicating specific family values to the next generation, my experience is that it often is a bit short on teaching relational skills.