“But what about socialization?”
From My Supernatural World:
I understand that children play together in ways adults can’t comprehend, and that children, when playing together, reach levels of imagination unfathomable to adults. But aren’t they already getting more time at imaginative play than their public school counterparts with their siblings at home? A neighbor kid or two? Can they not learn they can’t always have their way from their parents? From the fact that they’re all out of blueberry pancakes at the diner today? From the car repair that prevents them from going to the amusement park? LIFE doesn’t let you have your own way all the time. Can they not learn about rules and how to follow them from their parents? From the “No Running” sign at the swimming pool? From watching Mom get a speeding ticket? LIFE shows you there are rules that must be followed. Interacting with other children, in school or in homeschool group playdates, does not teach kids about the real world. Interaction with the real world does.
In other words, who needs it?
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October 17th, 2008 at 5:20 pm
Some people do-more people than not actually. Good to know the writer lived in the perfect world . . .
October 17th, 2008 at 8:11 pm
OK, let me try again, now that I know this is my real-life friend Tammy who has actually tried homeschooling. I originally thought the previous comment was from a homeschool-hater. Oops.
I still disagree with your premise. I don’t think that what the writer describes requires a perfect world. All of what she describes teaches a child to get along in the world quite well, with no special efforts or programs to socialize a child.
I know the difficulties you’ve had making sure J gets the interaction he needs in order to learn life skills. But can you honestly say that the ’socialization’ he’s received at school has taught him anything useful? I think your situation is unique in that you are having to work AND go to school, so you don’t have the opportunities most homeschoolers have to spend time with their kids out in the world that makes socialization unnecessary for them. You have to find other ways to keep J plugged in with other people — even WITH him in public school. But in the typical homeschooling family (if you can even say typical homeschooling), the writer’s scenario is right on — socialization as a special effort is not required. It happens as life happens.