Social Studies
We're four months into homeschooling, and all is well.
When we first decided to look into homeschooling, almost a year ago now, we heard quite a few cynical and hateful predictions from friends and family.
That was quite disappointing to say the least. I took the lack of support and filed it away into a very special place in my memory.
The comments we heard most often involved the "socialization" of my son. As if the only reason we should keep him in the public schools was so that he could par-tay with his homies.
Which is odd, because apparently most people don't know what goes on in the public schools. I was there, volunteering, from kindergarten to second grade. The kids are segregated by grade level. At lunch they march into the cafeteria and sit only with their own class. At recess, most kids play with friends they already know. There isn't much time or opportunity for this "socializing" that I hear so much about. Even in the classroom, kids sit quietly at their desks. They are not encouraged to play 20 questions with their neighbor to become better acquainted. Throw in the fact that my son's old elementary school is 99% Middle Class/Caucasian, and I'm left completely unimpressed with the socialization argument against homeschooling.
Something else that people don't know much about, and that's my son. He never did care much about making friends at school. He always spent his playtime playing around the groups of kids, not with them. He would get lost in his imagination while others were following the strict rules of tetherball or basketball.
My son is certainly not a loner. He loves to battle light sabers with friends. He's a wiz at board games. Soccer is his favorite sport. Once he warms up to you, he's just about the best buddy you could ask for, full of energy and creativity.
Some people might have this image of the homeschooler as a sickly little boy holding a violin while staring longingly out the window at kids playing in the park. But for my son, it's just the opposite. He's out and about and all over town almost daily. Activity is the key word. We don't just sit and read books all day.
Through the IDVA, he's been on five different field trips this fall. Two more are coming up before the Christmas break. He also has a weekly PE class at the local gym where he plays games with kids ranging from age 7 to 10. A few months ago he joined Cub Scouts. In October we even went to camp for a day where he learned things like archery and turkey calling.
Add in various community activities that we've done as a family and I daresay he's had more "socialization" in the past four months than he had in the past three years of public school. I can't even keep track of all the different kinds of people he's been experiencing lately.
And isn't that exactly what the naysayers told me that school prepares kids for? Dealing with different kinds of people later in life? Funny, I never saw much of that at the public school.
But I'm seeing it now.
When we first decided to look into homeschooling, almost a year ago now, we heard quite a few cynical and hateful predictions from friends and family.
That was quite disappointing to say the least. I took the lack of support and filed it away into a very special place in my memory.
The comments we heard most often involved the "socialization" of my son. As if the only reason we should keep him in the public schools was so that he could par-tay with his homies.
Which is odd, because apparently most people don't know what goes on in the public schools. I was there, volunteering, from kindergarten to second grade. The kids are segregated by grade level. At lunch they march into the cafeteria and sit only with their own class. At recess, most kids play with friends they already know. There isn't much time or opportunity for this "socializing" that I hear so much about. Even in the classroom, kids sit quietly at their desks. They are not encouraged to play 20 questions with their neighbor to become better acquainted. Throw in the fact that my son's old elementary school is 99% Middle Class/Caucasian, and I'm left completely unimpressed with the socialization argument against homeschooling.
Something else that people don't know much about, and that's my son. He never did care much about making friends at school. He always spent his playtime playing around the groups of kids, not with them. He would get lost in his imagination while others were following the strict rules of tetherball or basketball.
My son is certainly not a loner. He loves to battle light sabers with friends. He's a wiz at board games. Soccer is his favorite sport. Once he warms up to you, he's just about the best buddy you could ask for, full of energy and creativity.
Some people might have this image of the homeschooler as a sickly little boy holding a violin while staring longingly out the window at kids playing in the park. But for my son, it's just the opposite. He's out and about and all over town almost daily. Activity is the key word. We don't just sit and read books all day.
Through the IDVA, he's been on five different field trips this fall. Two more are coming up before the Christmas break. He also has a weekly PE class at the local gym where he plays games with kids ranging from age 7 to 10. A few months ago he joined Cub Scouts. In October we even went to camp for a day where he learned things like archery and turkey calling.
Add in various community activities that we've done as a family and I daresay he's had more "socialization" in the past four months than he had in the past three years of public school. I can't even keep track of all the different kinds of people he's been experiencing lately.
And isn't that exactly what the naysayers told me that school prepares kids for? Dealing with different kinds of people later in life? Funny, I never saw much of that at the public school.
But I'm seeing it now.
Permalink posted by Phil at 1:11 AM
12 Comments:
I'm glad you are blogging about homeschooling, I think it does get a bad rap.
If we ever decide to pull Kristin out of her Montessori school, I will homeschool. I will never do the public education as my own memories of that were of the 'hostile' socialization (bullies)
I'm always interested in reading about your homeschooling.
I found your site from the link you left on mine. Are you a stay at home dad? I can't tell.
I am sending my son to pubic school, and I am just upset they closed down the neighborhood school (2 blocks away) AND it was the school I went to! Now he will have to ride a bus until he is old enough to drive. Ironically, the Highschool is less than a block away!
Duh...
I just saw your tagline
When kids are stuck in classrooms all day they really only learn to relate to their peer group. You see this evidence particularly clearly when kids become junior high/high school age. They only "get" other kids their age and they often have disdain for people younger and older. My nephew had a program at his school where his class had to spend time with the younger grades and each child was assigned to be a kind of mentor to a younger kid. As a result he got a lot of experience in relating with little kids and learned to model appropriate "big kid" behavior to them. Now that he's a teenager he plays so well with my own kids and really seems to have a good sense of how to relate to them. I think homeschooled kids typically get more interaction with people of different ages because of those kinds of homeschooling meet-ups that you talked about. Our church has one where kids come from all over the region to have gym class/play basketball and other indoor sports together, and kids of all ages are welcome and are not segregated. Anyway, keep up the good work. Glad to hear it is going so well.
Keep up the good work ... socialization at school is a big myth that is highly overrated (especially by well meaning family)!
Good luck with it. I'm still on the fence. I think the socialization thing might be overrated, but I'm still on the fence. Socially, school is a roller coaster. And that might be good.
I think my bigger worry would be that homeschooling my child would give her only my opinion. Teaching is very subjective - you get good and bad from all your teachers growing up (mostly bad :) but it's different. From books chosen to tangents taken in lectures. Different is good.
However, I was extremely bored all throughout school and, as a result, "challenged" authority and "tested" a few boundaries... so, what do I know?
I wish I had the inclination, my wife had the inclination to home school our kids. I do not believe there is much good that comes from a public education.
Catholic School I think is the answer for us.
Being formerly homeschooled myself for a number of years, I completely agree with you about the social thing and schools. I am definately more able to talk to a broad range of people from many different backgrounds and ages than my peers are. I didn't realize it until I got to college though. Keep up the good work!
I find this very enlightening. My mom is always harping about the socialization thing. I think it's overrated, too.
I was homeschooled for first and second grade, after telling my parents that there was no way I was going back to public school. My parents themselves did not homeschool me, the woman I stayed with during the day homeschooled her own children, and myself. I am eternally grateful for those two years.
I think that children need to learn to develop relationships with adults early on, and it is much easier to do in a home setting, rather than the cold, bustling halls of a public school, where children tend to get lost in the shuffle.
We were taught following the Waldorf philosophy, a lot of hands on experiences, and creativity. I went to a Waldorf school in third grade, and stayed until high school.
I'm telling you all this because I want to express to you how grateful I am for the education I recieved. I'm in my first year of college now and every day I think back on the choices my parents made about my education, and I thank them for it.
Those of us who were so cared for are the luckiest people in the world. In my experience there is no greater gift you could be giving your son.
In an ideal world I believe there would be a method of schooling tailored to each child.
Your experiences of homeschooling are interesting to read.
Angela
Fantasic blog.
Children go to school and basically only socialize with children.
Where as children are already children and need to socialize more with adults because thats what they are going to grow up to be and they need good adult role models.
My daughter is 6 and has lots of children to play with outside the home environment. She tends to prefer to play with slightly older children and parents comment on her wonderful vocabulary for her age. This is because she models off me and off good books. She is 2 years ahead with maths and we only spend 10mins a day (and not every day) on it. We have a life!
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