After the last two columns related to homeschooling, and the various responses I received, I have re-affirmed the age-old maxim:   “The best way to expand your thinking about something is to write a column about it.”
I had an interesting variety of responses and experiences arise from the columns.  Among the highlights:

1. Communications with an educator connected with an online homeschool curriculum provider that also provides classes for individuals or associations. (I would call it an online private school of sorts, but my correspondent would disagree.)  We had some GREAT discussions, and found ourselves in basic agreement on most points related to educating students in general.
2. A request to be a guest on a local talk show to discuss homeschooling.  This one scared me mightily, as I certainly do/did not claim to be an expert on homeschooling.  But I survived the experience – I think – and the discussion helped me to further clarify some thoughts as well.
3. A very articulate set of thoughts from a friend and former colleague in mathematics education (not at MSU), who, having now retired, has partnered with his wife, a retired public school teacher to home-school their grandson.

I’d like to elaborate on #3.  Dr. Terry Goodman’s responses were most enlightening as they combined his career experiences in higher education with his current experiences in homeschooling.  I’ve had to edit much of his response in this space, but I think I’ve preserved the core.  He begins:  “Having worked with public school teachers (pre- and in-service) for 40 years and strongly believing in the value and importance of public schools, it was with mixed feelings that Teresa (a public school teacher) and I decided to homeschool our grandson.”
He then highlights an important advantage in their experience, namely that “we can more easily and consistently identify and meet [our grandson’s] needs.”
But his strong caveat:  “Now that we are homeschooling our grandson, we are even more convinced that being the homeschool ‘teacher’ is a very challenging task. Choosing curriculum materials, especially in areas that are not our “specialty” areas requires careful thought and research. Building in appropriate and consistent extracurricular/social activities requires even more time [as we] construct a schedule and curriculum that takes into account our grandson’s learning disabilities.”
Dr. Goodman finishes with a list, from his experiences, of 5 important prerequisites to creating a successful homeschool environment.  To see these observations (and more of his comments), contact me, or visit http://aftermathenterprises.com/homeschooling-thoughts-dr-terry-goodman/
All this brings me back to my post-column experiences.  These interactions allowed at least two things to happen for me:  I was reminded what a difficult, though timely, topic this is to discuss.  And, I was helped in clarifying at least some of my thinking in this area.
That increased clarity, or insight, for me is this:  The decision to homeschool is (or should be?) all about the student(s) in question and not so much about parental beliefs or fears.  Choosing to homeschool a child can be a valuable –and viable – option for parents (or grandparents) if it helps the student who may have special need(s) and/or needs help in some area(s).  At the same time, it is not a decision to be made lightly and comes at a very high cost for the [grand]parents in terms of time, finances, organization, and lifestyle. Parents who make this choice should be prepared for these demands.  Homeschooling is NOT an easy option.