If you are concerned about preparing your child for the "Real World", and think maybe public school is the best preparation for this, let me quote a very wise homeschooling mom (quoted with permission) and hopefully set your mind at ease:

"What about regular school is like the real world?

School, in general, and high school, in particular, seem to breed behaviors and feelings that many people spend the rest of their lives shaking off. Sometimes when I meet a VERY immature adult, I realize that they're still treating life like high school...Success in life has nothing whatsoever to do with success in school. The type of competition taught and revered in most schools is detrimental to the cooperative teamwork that is needed for real success in business and personal happiness...It seems to teach a certain passivity in thinking. It breeds "followers" who can't take a step on their own...The real leaders of tomorrow will be people who can stand on their own and think. Someone once said that children succeed despite their parents' efforts to raise them (substitute schools)."