We are homeschoolers, and are relatively strong on the "pro-homeschooling" side, but also are fully aware that this choice isn't for everyone.
The first thing people need to understand is that homeschooling your kids, especially in the beginning, involves work and effort. A lot of people don't get this -- like the kid is just going to magically ingest knowledge or something. Taking on full responsibility for your child's education means just that -- you have a responsibility to see to it that they get the absolute best education possible.
For us, that meant being Classical home educators, for others, it might mean something different in the VERY WIDE range of educational options, but the CHOICE needs to be there for parents. They are, after all, OUR children, not the government's.
We chose to home educate because we have two children at opposite ends of the spectrum academically. Our one son is very advanced, very intelligent, and was being lost in the system. He was "easy" and quiet in the classroom, so the teachers were free to ignore him while they dealt with the five or six "problem" students. I sat in on classes, was involved in the PTA, and volunteered in the classroom regularly, and I didn't like what I saw. When this was brought up at a parent/teacher interview, and we were told to butt out, that they (as professionals) knew what was best for our child, and we should "leave it to the experts", we knew that we needed to make a different choice.
Our youngest son has Sensory Integration Disorder and had some learning challenges that would not have meshed well with a public classroom. Keeping him home and controlling the environment in which he had social interaction with others, and slowly introducing more challenging situations kept him from going into meltdown on a daily basis. He could not have learned anything in that environment, and would have been labeled, filed in a special ed program, and convinced he was "different" and didn't have to try. As it stands, he has never been told that he is "different" and therefore has no excuse to say "I can't".... so he simply DOES. With much patience and hard work, we have found the way in which he learns best and have used it -- and we now have a 12yo who is at or above standardized level for his age group in nearly every subject. This is the child who the doctors told us would never progress past the fourth grade level academically, and would probably be dependent on us for much of his future. I suppose they were right -- he was dependent on us for his future, and we've ensured that he has one that doesn't include our supporting him and treating him as though he cannot, when he can, simply because that decision was easier.
Home education has freed us in many ways, and while we still make the decision each year based on our CURRENT situation, we haven't changed our minds yet.
Having said all of that, I must caution you that home education is NOT for everyone. You have to have a very long, very frank conversation with your spouse. Do not underestimate the role of the other parent in this -- it's important that they are on board, and willing to support you (or you them). This is hard work, requiring daily effort, and self-discipline. Be honest with yourself -- if there is anything about your personality that has a history of habitually letting things slide, home education may not be the best choice. There are some AMAZING schools out there. Just because your local school may not be the best choice, there are other options.
Online or "virtual" schools are becoming very popular. I have not investigated these fully because, at the moment, we are very happy with the way we're doing things -- but I probably would if there were reason to. They make a nice compromise between sending your child to public school and home educating. Private schools can be pricey, but some are well worth the cost. Talk to other parents of students at the school in question to get a true picture of what it's like -- the school itself may not always relate the things that individual families see. If it's a good school, they will have no objection to your doing this.
Good luck -- it's a very important decision, and I applaud you for putting the effort in to make it, rather than simply going with the default. Every parent owes it to their children to honestly think about the decision of how to educate them, and to investigate the different ways it's possible for their family to educate. Even if one choice is out from the beginning for personal reasons, investigating your child's educational options is, to me, basic parenting.