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I don’t buy the socialization issue. At times, I wonder what people mean when they say homeschooled children have a hard time socializing? Attending regular schools my last two years in high school I met quite a few kids that were had always been in the traditional school setting, but they weren’t social. I encountered the same thing as a group mentor.

Dr. Raymond wrote…

“The idea that children need to be around many other youngsters in order to be ’socialized,’” Dr. Moore writes, “is perhaps the most dangerous and extravagant myth in education and child rearing today.”

Who’s Dr. Raymond Moore? He’s the author of over 60 books and articles about human development. There are others who have said similar things, but you get the idea, right?

Socialization happens with my daughter every day. It’s how she interacts with me, her family, friends, and how she observes me interacting with the world around us. She follows my example. I think the myth of socialization with homeschoolers was most likely created by those who did not realize how full a homeschoolers life can be, or they were basing their opinions on isolated incidents.My daughter has “regular friends” you know the types that go to public or private schools. They live in our little community. As I mentioned in an earlier post Homeschooling As A Single Parent my brother and I went to something similar to a homeschool the only difference was it was in a church setting. Guess what? We still played with the children in our neighborhood, and my daughter does the same.

The only difference with our children is the way we choose to teach them. Her friends accept the fact that she is home schooled and don’t think it makes her “weird”. My daughter and I accept the fact that they are going to a traditional school, and we don’t automatically assume that they are not learning. They are actually smart kids. Aiyana also has her homeschooling buddies. She likes being around all of them because each one of her buddies brings something unique, in her mind their friendship.

I was cruising the internet and came across this post by Pediascribe also I was able to read Ned Vare’s The Socialization Myth doing a quick search you will find many articles that address this issues. I can feel the frustration in the post not only by her but those who responded on this post.

Guess what? I’ve experienced it repeatedly depending on what group I’m associated with homeschooler, vegan, minority, etc., I think, sometimes, we’ve all been labeled incorrectly. Maybe we need to think before we put inaccurate labels on one another, and I’m not just talking about “socialization” here this applies to everything.

I try to judge people as an individual and not lump people into a group. Having been on the receiving end a lot I know how annoying that can be. The reality, eventually, I most likely will have inaccurate labels placed on me. I do see it as a chance to train and show the individual(s) that what they believe is not necessarily true.

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