I just read a cogent article about homeschooled children, adult homeschooled graduates, and the issue of “socialization”. It is called “Yes, My Grown Homeschooled Children Are Odd – And Yours Will Be, Too”, by Dianne Flynn Keith. During the years we homeschooled, I bristled when people asked, “but what about their socialization?”
Dianne Keith takes a different tack with her answer to the question of socialization, however, and she is correct. Take a few minutes, as I did, and read this piece. If you are just beginning to look at the homeschooling option, you will be relieved. If you are a parent weary from a just-completed homeschooling year, you will rejoice. It will give you the encouragement to keep going, and with clarity.
There is, of course, a balance between respectfully questioning authority and merely reacting negatively to all authority as if in a blind temper tantrum. We live in a nation founded by individual thinkers, men and women who purposefully challenged the then-status quo. They did not, however, do it lightly. It was with great thought and prayerful consideration.
I submit to you that homeschoolers – traditional, independent homeschoolers unattached to a school district – must give homeschooling the same thought and consideration. Unlike when my husband and I began the process with our children, America now has over thirty years of legal homeschooling in this country, along with numerous scientific studies regarding its efficacy. We have proven unequivocally that homeschooling WORKS: it is not a passing fad.
The decision to homeschool is a choice both exciting and sacrificial for parents courageous enough to do it It is a strong choice that brings great rewards. Difficult sometimes, yes, but parenting itself is, too. You make mistakes along the way. You do things you wish you hadn’t. Somehow, you learn to correct them. Miraculously, your children do grow up and move into adulthood.
Interestingly enough, I don’t hear too many people say later, “I’m sorry I homeschooled my children.”
What am I talking about? Stay tuned for more blog entries about this. In the meantime, take a good look at the at the link below:
http://www.homefires.com/articles/odd_children.asp
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