The article that we link at Carolina Journal today on the still-increasing popularity of homeschooling had the obligatory “lack of socialization” perspective:
A separate federal report showed a rising number of teenagers are skipping school for fear of getting hurt, even though reported school violence is down.
That sense of anxiety — fueled by terrorism warnings, high-profile school shootings and a desire to keep children out of harm’s way — probably has helped homeschooling grow, said Ted Feinberg, assistant executive director of the National Association of School Psychologists.
Feinberg said parents must consider whether their children will emerge from homeschooling with less exposure to other children.
Let me say once and for all to Dr. Feinberg and everyone else concerned about a “socialization” problem in homeschooling: “Less exposure to other children” is one of the two major reasons for homeschooling, the other being quality education. In other words, we don’t want kids we don’t know, from families we don’t know, teaching our kids how to “socialize” for eight hours a day, five days a week. OK?
