Home Schooling Socialization
Home schooling is enjoying a surge in population over the past decade. But one of the biggest barriers to parents agreeing to home school their kids has to do with socialization.
Parents worry that their kids will not learn proper socialization skills by learning at home instead of in a formalized educational environment.
This criticism stems from the idea that your child’s ability to relate with others is hampered, if not disabled when he/she is absent from a regular class setup. A related (and rather alarmist) issue is that the child may grow up to have anti-social behavior that could threaten the community.
Unfortunately, when people throw around terms like “socialization” without fully understanding what the concept means, a lot of truth can be misinterpreted and therefore lead people into thinking things that are not necessarily true.
Socialization is the process of introducing an uninitiated member of society to the norms and habits of the society he is to be part of. For example, if you moved to another country with a different culture from what you were used to, you would need socialization skills that would help you relate to that country and help you become socially acceptable.
In regards to your child, he/she is a member of our society and culture. As a parent, it is up to you to provide guidance and direction as your child interacts with the world around him. It is ultimately up to you to teach your child "the ropes."
Given this viewpoint, consider the kind of “socialization” that takes place in a traditional school environment. Children are grouped by age and are cooped up in a room for six to seven hours. Time spent away from the classroom is usually only an hour long. The kind of contact they have with adults is confined to the kind of teachers that surround them. More often than not, performance is driven by trying to keep up or outdoing the other kid or team.
Of course, the above picture does sound extreme. But then again, you must also ask yourself: does that description truly reflect the society you are part of? Would you consider that environment suitable in teaching your child how to function as a member of society?
Alternatively, look at a child who is home schooled. The child is constantly interacting with someone outside his/her age group. There will probably be more opportunities to explore the immediate world around him/her. The home schooled child learns to discover his capabilities at a more advanced rate than those who are conventionally schooled.
There have been many studies to suggest that home schooled children fare better when it comes to socialization issues than their conventionally schooled counterparts. These kids not only seem to relate better to other kids, but relate better to people outside their age group as well.
The latter should be enough to allay the concerns regarding children not being able to function normally in society. But there are more reasons to support the assertion that home-schooled children are not disadvantaged as far as social interactions are concerned.
Current thinking about the subject tells us that home schooled kids are actually better prepared when it comes to socialization because they have more time to develop those skills.
Home schooled children have also seem to relate better to adults, and can hold more meaningful conversations with them. It has also been noticed that these kids actually relate better to kids younger than them as well, by acting in a more socially responsible manner towards them.
Another advantage is that home-schooled children have more free time to pursue interests in music, arts or sports or simply to enjoy activities such as reading, craft making or simple play. These activities are not motivated by “fattening up” a resumé, which a traditional school environment may cause some students to do.
With all of this information available, the concern over lack of socialization skills can be put aside.
Home schooling is far from being a fix-it-all, foolproof solution. Social skills can be hampered in a home school environment if the guardian fails to give the child the opportunities to learn how to relate with others.
Such opportunities don’t have to be complex. Simply allowing the child to be with other children and adults will be enough. On the other hand, much supervision is required on the guardian’s part, both to instruct and to protect the child from possible harm.
Socializing with one another is still a precious commodity for all of us. Some seem to be better at this skill than others. Helping your child to learn to socialize prepares him/her for life after the school years have long passed. Good socialization skills can carry a person as far as he/she wants to go.