Mimi Rothschild - Home School Support & Home Education News

By Mimi Rothschild

“All I really learn is how to sit on command, go to the restroom on someone else’s schedule, and duck the people who feel like beating me up that day.”

August 31st’s installment of Buckets is more than just a lighthearted comic. Whether the author intended it or not, it is a scathing indictment of one of the many failures of our modern public school system.

I hear the “S” word more than any other word when concerned parents discuss homeschooling. Now that test scores have put fears of a poor-quality education to rest, socialization is the only remaining concern for many parents. We throw the word around as if more is always better. I believe the question parents need to ask is, “Socialized to what?” There is such a thing as negative socialization.

First of all, where did we get the idea that throwing our children in a room full of 30 peers is good socialization? How does this dichotomy represent the real world? Wouldn’t it be more representative of “real life” if we had our children mingle with people of disparate ages? Think about it. If children lack exposure to older, more mature children, they will never experience the motivation to mature. Rather, they will continue to act like, well children. Sound familiar? Should we socialize our kids to be like kids or to grow into autonomous, mature adults? I look around and see a generation of 20-somethings that lack the basic skills to make it in the “real world.” Financial duress, relationship woes, illegitimate children, drug and alcohol dependence increasingly abound among our young adults. Prolonging adolescence is the name of the game.

I also see “groupthink” a consequence of the much-heralded “socialization.” Children come first to look, then to think, then to behave like everyone else. This is why cheating, lying, and bullying are performed by the wide majority of children.

I can’t speak for all homeschoolers, but my family embodies the opposite of this situation. My older kids learn from their parents while the younger children learn from their older siblings. They mature much more rapidly than their public-school peers as a result. They think for themselves, with their own beliefs, interests, and opinions. My children are polite and respectful, have no problem having intelligent conversations with adults as well as children. Furthermore, they don’t need prescription drugs to do so.

The next time a friend asks you if you’re concerned that your children won’t be properly socialized, explain to them why that’s exactly what you’re trying to avoid!