Challenging Myths: Socialization in Homeschooling

Homeschooling can get you into a lot of trouble. You could have social workers showing up at your house saying, “We’ve received complaints about unsocialised homeschoolers”. You could have worried family trying to counsel you because you are going to teach them in ‘isolation’. One of the charges most frequently brought against homeschoolers, the apparent lack of ‘healthy socialisation’, is one they continuously fight. Though they have proved themselves capable of healthy social interaction, the notion persists, leading some homeschoolers to accept the label, “weird, unsocialised homeschoolers” as part of their identity (Flynn). Is the schoolroom really that important to the social development of the child that any other method is deemed less

A number of evangelical Christians then began to teach their children at home to protect them from the negative influences of public schools. As these parents began homeschooling, the idea that homeschooled children were isolated emerged (‘A Brief History of Homeschooling’). Although there were cases of poorly socialised and neglected children, the majority has been shown through research to be as socially mature as, if not more than, their traditionally socialised peers. The homeschooling method can provide opportunities that cause healthy social maturity and growth while avoiding the negative influences of traditional schooling. Some have found that their homeschool experience kept them from fitting perfectly into mainstream culture, but I believe the benefits that homeschooling brings outweigh such

Homeschooling on the other hand, though it does not make students immune to the pressure to conform, does alleviate the extent of that pressure. There can be no social exclusion or ostracism in the place they spend most of their time. In fact, some students said that not having to “worry about what’s in style is one of the reasons why they liked homeschooling” (Medlin 112). Understanding the consequences of negative peer pressure, parents choose to homeschool their children, socialising them in more accommodating and diverse groups of people (Lines