When you start to talk about homeschooling, one of the first things that people ask is, “What about socialization?”
What IS Socialization?
The problem with socialization is that the standard ideal of being social is being with your peers. People assume that children need to be with other children, which is completely false. If you look back 200 years, most children stayed on the family farm and grew up with only their siblings and other adults for “socialization” and the majority turned out just fine.
What Kind of Socialization?
We do need to be around other people, we are social beings, after all. However, we don`t necessarily need to be around others of the same age, as any adult will agree . . . most of us have friends of varying ages once we reach adulthood. This works the same way for children, there`s nothing wrong with having friends of the same age, but there is also nothing wrong with having older friends.
Also, take a look at schools today. Rampant with violence, racism, and hatred . . . is that the kind of socialization your kids should be getting? For anyone who thinks that homeschooling parents are being unrealistic and socially stunting their children for life, all you have to do is look at the statistics. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, 10% of male students and 6 % of female students carried firearms to school in 2006. I don`t know about you, but I don`t really want my children associating with either kids who are thinking about the possibility of shooting someone or the people who are frightening them so badly they feel they need to carry a gun!
Homeschoolers, in general, tend to get along best with adults. And, let`s face it, they`re going to be adults most of their lives, so why not learn to get along with them now? Socialization is necessary, just not with the same age group.
Tags: firearms in school, homeschool, homeschool students, school violence, socialization