socialization

But What About Socialization??

so�cial�ize 'sO-sh&-"lIz
v. so�cial�ized, so�cial�iz�ing, so�cial�iz�es*
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.

Asking �But what About Socialization??� of a homeschooler is a bit like asking a pregnant woman �Is it a boy or a girl?� Is the baby�s sex the most important thing? Is it even an issue? No. Few would argue that the unborn child�s health is much more important than the sex. I think few would argue that a homeschooled child�s academic progress is much more important than how full their social calendar is.

Socialization is a process by which an individual learns to function within the society he or she live in. Known among homeschoolers as "the S word," socialization is usually the biggest concern among non-homeschoolers. What is it about not sticking your child in a classroom (where they are not allowed to �socialize� by the way) full of age mates that tends to make others nervous? Is it the thought that they will grow up to not conform? Or maybe it is the higher-than-normal chance that they will grow up to form their own thought and ideas? What a scary thought.

Homeschooling parents, on the other hand, often find their children have too much socialization - park days, skate days, and field trips! Children who live in urban or suburban areas come in contact with people all day long. Children who are taught at home have more time to socialize freely without being told what to play, when to play it and where to play it!

I read the perfect answer to the dreaded "but what about socialization?" questions we have all heard a zillion times. I don�t remember where I read it, but it went something like this...

"Yes. I agree. It is horrible the way public school children are socialized in this day and age!"

Homeschool author, John Holt, wrote this about socialization:
"As for friends, you are not going to lock your child in the house. I think the socializing aspects of school are 10 times as likely to be harmful as helpful. The human virtues -- kindness, patience, generosity, et cetera -- are learned by children in intimate relationships, maybe groups of two or three. By and large, human beings tend to behave worse in large groups, as you find in school. There they learn something quite different: popularity, conformity, bullying, teasing -- things like that. [Homeschoolers] can make friends after school hours, during vacations, at the library, in church."

*The American Heritage� Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

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