I have gotten asked a lot if I'm worried about my children's socialization since they're being home schooled, and my answer is...no. I don't want to downplay another parent's fears or concerns for their children, but I have trouble even understanding the question. To begin with, I'm not sure I agree with the whole idea of 'socialization' anyway; from what I can gather when people refer to it what they mean is 'aren't you worried that your children won't be able to relate to other people and function in society?' and no, I'm not, because my children are IN society. Unless you aren't letting your children outside of the house and refusing to let them speak to others, they will become 'socialized'. No one looks at a herd of zebra and asks if it's healthy for the baby zebra of one herd to not meet the baby zebra of another herd - the zebra learn to be zebra in their own herd.
What I think people really want to ask is if I'm afraid my children will be 'weird'. If they won't dress and act like other children their age, or 'fit in'. And I'm not sure that's necessarily dependent on where you go to school. Nor do I think learning the latest fashions should be the driving force behind sending my children to public school.
I believe that my children are actually getting more of a 'real world' education in a lot of ways. They see adults living at home and doing the things they need to do everyday and from that knowledge they will be able to function on their own one day. My children will see me plan a meal, go shopping for ingredients, prepare the food and clean up. They will see me care for infants-change diapers and so forth. They watch me garden. When they are grown, they will know how a house runs. This sort of knowledge is really important to overall life happiness.
No comments:
Post a Comment