The "S" Word, an exposition for those concerned

Socialization. Seriously. I thought it was "School" and homeschoolers were mocking people because of how very little time it takes to cover the material that a conventional school covers in 8 hours. So little that it is hardly like school at all, really.

But they were referring to socialization. The big nasty word that people who don't homeschool lower their voice and tone to say when commenting on the "dangers" of such a lifestyle. I'm a bit slow sometimes to read such body language and inferred meaning.

A student "informed" me in a flame mail that I am inflicting my daughter with an unfair segregation and she will have taken away from her team sports, school lunches, and friends! Um, no. Home School Assistance Program (HSAP) allows her to play on any team, take any class, go to band, etc that she wants, when she wants (not determined by age either, only ability) even dances if she chooses that. She also has the choice of team sports, practice, etc that are not connected to her schooling and there are many more of those, more on that later. School lunches? Hmmmm, maybe I should re-think my daughter's whole educational process so she can learn to consider ketchup as a vegetable serving, (insert rolled eyes here, I mean really?) AND FRIENDS? I have to laugh at that one. Lil'Bug has more friends that her socially inept mama (who is a product of Public School (PS)). I could even go on about comparing the PS classroom to Lord of the Flies. I've done this before when cornered with socialization, but that's the easy way to be snarky about it.

Why is the issue of socialization so often the fish brought out in "polite" conversation? Beats me. Maybe it is the only thing people can come up with since they can't argue test scores, manners, success, or happiness. Yes, happiness. Check out this link: homeschoolers all grown up. (It is a PDF.) So that's the formal research on it. A very, very low percentage of hmSchoolers end up in prison and a very, very high end up in college and HAPPY compared to the rest of society. Why then are we worried?

I started to look at it from a different perspective. What do they actually mean by socialization? What they mean is normal. Because realistically socialization is not restricted to public school days, and so very little of it actually occurs there K-8. Kids learn to socialize from their parents and community, their churches, their sports activities, etc. and most of that is outside school days. They may make connections to people at school, but the majority of the interpersonal interaction occurs outside the school bells.

So the real question is not about socialization, it's about normalcy. It's not about the academic education, it's about diversity in lifestyle and that is what people are having a hard time swallowing. PS institutional education is good enough for them, what they chose for their children, why is it not what we are choosing for ours? So they wrap this up in a big word and make it sound really bad, as if we are depriving her of something invaluable that she can't get anywhere else, when really that's obviously not the case at all. They are defending their own choices even though that is not what we are asking them to do. Am I worried that my kid is not going to be normal?

The answer is: I'm not.

I'm too busy with field trips and laundry to worry about something so silly.