Reasons To Homeschool #5

Reason To Homeschool #5
Socialization

"What about socialization?" This is one of the dreaded questions homeschooling parents get asked by friends and family. My response is, "Absolutely! That's one of the best reasons to homeschool."

I love to challenge assumptions with people and one of those is that children should learn to socialize with other children their own age. I ask them why and they usually sputter about the child in question being a social reject and unable to work in groups. I tell them that they have a point if the child will grow up to be a peer of 5 to 18 year-olds.

Why on earth would any child want that as a career choice?

Instead, I argue that the aim of an education, at least socially, is to produce a balanced, versatile adult. Our children should be taught manners, the art of conversation, and the rudimentary basics of articulating and defending a point of view without resorting to name-calling, attacks or intimidation. I then ask them which of the two environments--home schooling and public education--is more likely to produce a positive result? It certainly isn't a public school system!

In a public school, if there are manners taught, it is the manners reinforced by immature peers that don't speak to adults unless it's absolutely necessary. A candidate hoping to be accepted among the elite of their peers would dread the thought of being seen in an active, mutually affirming conversation with a teacher. Additionally, independent thought and defending a point of view outside of structures like debate class (usually an elective) are actively discouraged by the current social structure within public schools. This is a point that John Taylor Gatto, former New York state School Teacher Of The Year, makes repeatedly in his books.

Homeschooling, by contrast, offers greater opportunities for interaction between a student and the people with whom that child will eventually be a peer. Most home school students that I know are well socialized and ready for continuing interaction with adults in the real world.