One experiece common to all homeschoolers is the $25,000 question of "socialization". Ugh. For those who homeschool, it is painfully obvious. For those with kids in government or private schools, it is a genuine concern.
Initially, I became anxious, thinking I had to answer that question. But how to do it? How to compress all that had gone into my decision to homeschool into a relatively short, coherent answer? Then, I became a smarty pants. I took the idea from someone else (I seem to do that a lot) and responded thus: "No worries. Once a week I hide in the bathroom, beat my kids up and offer them drugs. That way, they have that real school experience." Now, I go on the offensive: "What do you mean by that?" I do that because I realize that every time I have been asked that question, the asker and I are not defining socialization the same way. Not only that, but the asker actually doesn't know what they mean. They haven't thought it through ad nauseum, as my husband and I have.
The truth is all socialization is not created equal. If you think about it, who in their right mind would want to ensure that their child acted like the typical fourth grader? Wouldn't it be better to have your child have exemplary behavior beyond her years? When was the last time you felt pride which compelled you to compliment the behavior in a high school hallway? Just curious...
Next post I'll tackle the concerns over the potential for abuse in homeschooling homes.
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