From the article: Aren't these the same old tired arguments used by public schools against homeschooling parents? They've been deluded into believing public school socialization is a reflection of real life. Employers don't care if a person has been socialized; they want people who can do the job. I'd like to see these people come up with new arguments, so they can be refuted as easily as these.
"They're pretty isolated," Wood said. "They don't have any of those socialization skills. Employers want students who aren't just skilled in academics. They want them to get along well with other people." --from article yeah--hs kids don't get along well with others... that made me laugh.. to quote JenniferErix Thinking homeschooled kids are denied a normal social life simply exposes your public education research skills. some of those comments gave me a headache. Glad Idaho has a hs friendly politician in place! thanks for the article.--off to take a Motrin
Thanks for the link. Interesting article. I think sometimes the "socialization" kids get in ps actually hurts them later in the work force. They are so social they don't get their job done properly because they are too busy socializing. This is such a weak argument. I get tired of hearing it.
I daresay the socialization in the public school system CAN BE the ruination of our society! UGH! It's just not a NORMAL nurturing environment at all!
Come on--we should learn all our social skills from a group of 25 people our exact same age. We would learn so much from them and how to get along with so many different types of people with that opportunity. (end of sarcasm) I totally agree with you Krista.
If a weak argument about socialization is all opposers to homeschooling can come up with, then I say us homeschoolers are in pretty good shape.
I often get asked "What about socialization?"......Elianna was going to school for specials so I spent more time that I ever had before at the school and the things that the kids said to her (and to each other) were terrible. I think she can do without that kind of socialization. Also, people often ask Elianna what she is learning and/or if she is learning anything at all. They never asked this when she was in PS.
I am so over this line of questioning from people. I have really taken a hard look at my daughter and to call her unsocialized is absurd!! People are afraid of things they know nothing about. And it is sad really that some people will never know the beauty certain things because they are too closed minded to even cosider something other than what they've known forever. I used to let it bother me when people said something negative about hs'ing. Not anymore. If people want to talk down about hs'ing they will have to come up with something significantly better than the "s" word as an excuse.
I try not to let it bother me but sometimes........ On the other side of this I do have people tell me that they wish they could homeschool.
Homeschoolers have a tendency to have trouble in college with studying and note taking as it is a different environment than they are used to, or at least so I heard. Also, from personal experience and from knowing others who have been through the same thing, homeschoolers usually see the world through a filtered lens. Then get one, maybe two sides of a story, almost always ones that the parents pre-approve. Children in public schools are usually introduced to a lot of life a lot sooner. While this isn't always best, at least they get acclimated to life sooner.
The homeschoolers I know who are currently in college would disagree. Learning how to take notes in class is a temporary obstacle they adjust to very quickly. One of them brought a recorder, just to have the professor's lectures on hand. After a month, she no longer needed the recorder. You may be right about parents who have approved everything coming into their home. I've tried to balance this by exposing my daughter to certain topics with my supervision. Most of the homeschoolers I know don't allow television in their home; I do. All it takes to become knowledgeable about what is happening in the real world is to watch prime-time television. While it irritates me to see Christians portrayed as "right-wing wackos", it's a good lesson for my dd to learn how to deal with such nonsense. There is a girl in my dd's 4-H group who was taking courses at a local community college. Her mother thought it was a good idea to have her take a course on modern literature. Well, the "literature" used for the class was a certain monologue book. The first day she came home from the class, she told her mother what they were discussing. Apparently, the professor went into minute details about the subject. The mother decided to arm the girl with information, instead of pulling her from the class. It got to the point where the professor was embarrassed by the girl's knowledge. She immediately shut down the discussion, and chose another piece of literature.
Homeschooling Family Find Ways to Adapt to a PS "Socialization" Program: "When my wife and I mention we are strongly considering home- schooling our children, we are without fail asked, "But what about socialization?" Fortunately, we found a way our kids can receive the same socialization that government schools provide. On Mondays and Wednesdays, I will personally corner my son in the bathroom, give him a wedgie and take his lunch money. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, my wife will make sure to tease our children for not being in the "in" crowd, taking special care to poke fun of any physical abnormalities. Fridays will be "Fad and Peer Pressure Day." We will all compete to see who has the coolest toys, most expensive clothes and the loudest, fastest and most dangerous car. Every day, my wife and I will adhere to a routine of cursing and swearing in the hall and mentioning our weekend exploits with alcohol and immorality. If our kids attempt to use the bathroom without permission, we will punish them immediately. And we have asked them to report us to the authorities in the event we mention faith, religion or try to bring up morals and values."
That's pretty good, Kayla! One disadvantage of homeshcooling "from the beginning" is that the children can't really believe that this is what they're missing. They tend to see the bells and whistles.
I had such a HORRIBLE PS experience and that was over 20 years ago. I cannot imagine sending my daughter into that environment! Kayla - LOVE that...I think I'm going to memorize it so that I can rattle it off when people ask about socialization! LOL Can you imagine their faces? Euph - I've "heard" that too about colleges/note taking etc. One thing I've read recently (The Well trained Mind by Susan Wise Bauer and Jesse Bauer) talks about learning dictation/memorization so that you can write what you hear or what you think as it enters your mind. Very interesting concept. Teaches to listen AND do something at the same time...so the brain is 4 or 5 words ahead, but doesn't forget it when its' time to write it down. Although, i do have to say, every homeschooler I've known who's gone onto college has graduated in the top 5% of their classes. (I know about 20 or so grown ups who were homeschooled all the way thru). I'm sure there are studies...I would imagine there are...I wonder what they say regarding homeschoolers performance in college. Hmmmmm....
I wish I would've had that training when I was going through school. That was my big "BEAR" in college: I was horrible at note-taking! Do you remember where that is in the book? I have it and would like to look that up...
That's one thing I heard constantaly, what about socialization when I decided to hs. Our dd has more of a social calendar than I did at her young age. As for ps, our oldest daughter, was starting to get involved with she said this, coming home crying because her "best" friend told her she hates her, blah blah. That was elementary, girls can be vicious. As hard as we tried to talk to her, she would get caught up in the drama. I'm glad we are going to hs her, too. I'm not worried about socialization. Kellie:angel:
