What About Socialization?
If you have homeschooled for any amount of time (or even if you’ve just kicked around the idea of homeschooling in lighthearted conversation), you have had this thought or have been asked this question: “What about socialization?” This is a topic that seems to automatically arise in any discussion about homeschooling, especially if one of the people involved in the discourse does not homeschool. First, I think it’s important to tease out what the inquisitor means by “socialization”. When answering this question, it’s important to know if the question is about socialization or socializing, as the two have vastly different meanings. I generally find that most people actually mean “socializing” when this topic comes up but there are some who genuinely mean “socialization.” In this article I will give you my understanding of these two concepts and tell you what I think about each of them as they relate to homeschooling.
SOCIALIZING – In my experience, most people who ask “What about socialization” are actually asking, “Hey – will your kid ever get to see anyone but their own family? Will they get to play ball? Have a same-age peer group? Share secrets with best friends? Send spit balls flying across a cafeteria?” There seems to be a concern that homeschoolers will “miss out” on all of the “fun” things that we associate with our own school experiences. I will say emphatically that for us, socializing is NOT an issue. (Well, actually, I may have to take that back. It in fact CAN be an issue, but not in the way that you might think. I have had several conversations with fellow homeschooling mothers who laugh and say “we’ve got to cut out some of our social activities – we need to get some school work done!”) Homeschoolers have a multitude of opportunities to socialize with peers and sometimes, we have to avoid the pitfall of having too many things on the social schedule.