“All your children will be taught of the Lord, and great will be your children’s peace,” (Isaiah 54:13).

Friday, August 12, 2011

On Socialization




Even if you haven't officially started homeschooling yet, just mentioning that you are considering it (let alone have made the decision to do it) can bring a standard response from people. The first thing you will hear is, "What about socialization?"

My dear friend from high school called me yesterday, and I hadn't talked with her for months. We were trying to quickly catch up so I could finish getting dinner ready, and the conversation included what was in store for our coming school year. When I mentioned our co-op, and the potential class sizes (21+ in my middle school class alone!), she responded by saying, "Can you do that? I mean, isn't the whole point of homeschooling to avoid that kind of environment?"

I say this to show you one thing -- you have nothing to "prove" to anyone in relation to your decision to homeschool. People will believe things about homeschoolers no matter how you seek to enlighten them. If you don't do things with others, you are weird. If you are doing things as a group, it is still weird.

The definition of socialize is:

"To make fit for living in a group; to subject to governmental ownership or control."


Those who say homeschoolers aren't socialized just mean that they are different, i.e., they don't have a herd mentality, following the "in" crowd (and driving you nuts about having all the latest fashions and tech-toys). And they are usually able to have an intelligent conversation with people of all ages, not just their peers.

Do not allow comments about a lack of socialization scare you! Your children will be fine as they grow up in your home as lovers of learning, self-confident that God has an amazing purpose for their life that He will equip them to accomplish.

1 comment:

  1. Great post Selena! Your right. My boys may not spend day after day in a group of kids their own age, but they can carry on a conversation with our postmaster, librarian, hairdresser, check out clerk at the store and the sweet little ladies at the nursing home. And let's not forget that they spend time with kids their own ages a minimum of four times weekly for over two hours a time. I'm not saying that the "S" word is totally unimportant, but really - it's not like I keep them at home in a bubble. And it's certainly no reason to be afraid of homeschooling.
    Can you tell I've been beaten up a little this week about socialization? :)

    ReplyDelete

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