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Homeschooling For Academic Reasons - Articles on "Socialization"

Socialization is the "S" word as many homeschoolers call it
If you think placing your gifted child in a class with 20 other children (or more) of the same age all day is "proper socialization", then please read what Webster's has to say:

so·cial·ize (ssh-lz)
v. so·cial·ized, so·cial·iz·ing, so·cial·iz·es
v. tr.
1. To place under government or group ownership or control.
2. To make fit for companionship with others; make sociable.
3. To convert or adapt to the needs of society.v.

intr. To take part in social activities.

Main Entry: so·cial·iza·tion
Variant: also British so·cial·isa·tion
so·cial·i·za·tion (ssh-l-zshn) n.

1. The process of learning interpersonal and interactional skills that are in conformity with the values of one's society.
2. The process by which a human being beginning at infancy acquires the habits, beliefs, and accumulated knowledge of society through education and training for adult status

Source: Merriam-Webster Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.

"Socialization" has several meanings and interpretations, in my opinion. I interpret socialization as the ability to communicate with and adapt to all kinds of people. We do a lot of that in our homeschool. You don't need 20 other kids the same age as your student to ensure that they are "properly socialized". You just need the knowledge, the imagination, the common sense and the common courtesy to be able to participate in our society in a meaningful way. You learn this by being in society, not in "school" all day. Read on to see what others have written on this topic and then form your own opinion.


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How to Answer the Socialization Question Once and for All" 
From
  The National Home Education Network.
Marsha Ransom believes that "socialization" is the buzz-word among the Official Homeschool Nay Sayers Society. She urges us to stop telling others about all the opportunities our kids have for "socialization" and start gently exposing them to the real issue - a lot of what kids learn from other kids in social situations is simply living according to "The Law of the Jungle." And wouldn't we really prefer a higher set of laws to follow? Read Marsha's essay at
the National Home Education Network Newsletter, October 2002.
Dispelling the Myths About Socialization
From: The National Home Education Network.
Christine Webb responds to many common myths about homeschooling, including the myth that "Homeschooled children are lacking in opportunities for social interaction," and that "Homeschooled kids lack real world experience." Read what she has to say at the National Home Education Network Newsletter, October 2002.
The Myth of Socialization by John Loeffler, Steel on Steel Radio Program
"Stupidity Masquerading as a Virtue - Reality Shock"
"The moment teens leave high school, the majority of the so-called socialization in an artificial environment is found to be worthless. No one cares about their, feelings, socialization or image. “What can you do?” and “what do you know?” are the real questions. Once public schoolers emerge from high school, they discover that all the socialization skills they learned in dealing with peer pressure don't apply in the real world. Meanwhile the inter-age communication skills they need are sorely lacking. Most government schoolers I have met can't read, think, express themselves clearly and concisely, have little knowledge of anything from history to politics, and have a very distorted view of both history and society imposed upon them by a radical leftist curriculum.

Home schoolers don't suffer from the strictures of peer pressure and other artificial structures of public schools. They are, I have found, much better integrated than their public school counterparts, being as conversant with adults as with peers on a wide range of topics. They are skeptical of much of the peer-pressure nonsense their public school peers accept so readily because they have found they can truly be individuals without fear...." Read More