socialization

Well in the schools I went to, almost everyone came from the same backgrounds. The things I did outside of school is where things were more diverse. So that is what I imagine to be true.

 

would you mind being a little more specific? and did you attend public school?

 

Sure. I'm speaking of my entire academic history. I attended 6 schools total. All were public. One was a magnet for gifted students. One was a magnet(sorta) for the arts.

Not everyone, but almost everyone was on the same socioeconomic level. There were no really poor people, there were no rich people in most of my schools, when I wasn't really poor or rich.

In the schools with school zones, everyone lives close to you, everyone is from the same part of town as you, there's not much diversity there.

Even in the magnet schools. Students tend to be more academically inclined or artistically inclined because they had that kind of upbringing, which usually means the same socioeconomic background there as well.

 

hmm, now i would relate a magnet school more closely to a private school than a public school, which makes the situation a little different - your choice of school indicated that you would be around people similar to yourself, which is different than "regular" public school, because you don't really make a choice, it just depends on where you live. where i grew up, there were two high schools in the county (not multiple ones such as in a huge city where perhaps a school zone would make more difference).

the school zoning thing makes sense though; so i guess i think this is really one of those situations where it comes down to your situation and where you live. i think this article is very brash and presumptuous to state that homeschooling is "better" at socialization with various groups though - though i noticed the thread author posted only an excerpt, and that the person quoted said "in this case" and that case could be one similar to one you are stating you experienced in school.

out of curiosity honeyhannah, what were the outside-of-school activities you participated in that were so diverse?

 

yes, my homeschooled children interact on a daily basis with people of all socio, ethnic, and economic backgrounds. Much more than I ever did attending public school.


In my experience of public school, they said it was integrated, but the opposite was true. Sure, the school had an overall racial balance, but we didn't sit together in the lunchroom, we didn't take the same classes, and the white kids were very much separated from the black kids. whether by choice or by design the end result was that we did not interact with each other very much at all. The rich kids went to different schools than the poor, and even the middle class kids in my school separated themselves into cliques seemingly based on their parents' salaries. The basketball team was all black, and the baseball team was all white. They always had one token black girl on the cheerleading squad. The football team was the only thing I can say was actually integrated in my school.

 

i do believe that there are great benefits coming from home schooling. one is having a closer relationship between the child and the parents, thus strengthening the family bond. it is a two-way process, each supporting the other, to help develop the individuality and character of the child.

 

The public school system failed me. I fell through the cracks. I sometimes wished I had not been put through the public school system. One benefit is that I can relate to most people who have gone through the public school system for better or for worse. I also had very good parents because they continualy taught me things at home that you don't learn in a PS. They taught me stuff that put on the outside in the PS setting. My parents are non conformist hippy types. I was raised to be aware and individual I guess, and I got picked on for being "different". I think the PS system just grinds you into a mold. It's like the scene in PF The Wall where the kids are all falling into the meat grinder on a conveyor belt.

 

My parents made me homeschool k-12 because they read articles like that, believed them and refused to listen to anyone else. (including me)

The only research I have ever been able to find that "shows" homeschoolers are better socialized is horribly biased. The often cited study simply counts the number of after school activities homeschoolers are in versus public schoolers and concludes that since public schoolers are in fewer they must not be as well socialized. Also, look at the source of it, its a homeschooling "think tank" for crying out loud. Hardly unbiased. (if you have another more fair study that you know of please feel free to share it with me)

The main point of anti-homeschooling people like me is that homeschoolers dont learn to interact with their peers while they are growing up. 2-3 activities that last a few hours a week dont make up for all the social interaction that kids get while they are at school. And yes, kids do get a lot of social interaction as a result of the school system, despite the fact that they are told to be quiet while they are in class most of the time.

I homeschooled my entire childhood, I met several homeschoolers during those couple of hours every few weeks meetings that they like to do. Frankly, I wouldnt consider a single one of them to have an highly active social life.

The cliques that most homeschooling parents complain about arent caused by the public school system they are caused by human nature. If you put a lot of young people together all day every day thats what happens. The only way to avoid them is to dramatically limit your kids interaction with groups of people his/her own age. Homeschooling for this reason is a horrible thing to do to your kid. Making your kids give up on interaction with their peers because you dont like cliques isnt right. And lets face it, the limited interaction with those homeschooling groups they get is very strongly divided into cliques. There is usually a far right religous homeschooling group, the nerds who are going to math clubs and whatnot, and the hippies who are homeschooling their kids because they dont like the structure of school or whatever. If anything it is just parents pushing their kids into a certain clique.

 

I would like to homeschool my children, and would like to talk to other parents who have or are currently doing it. I am uninterested in talking to people who's only purpose is to get their opinion that "home school sucks" out there. I went to public school, and I can think of all kinds of reasons to not want my kids there. IF YOU ARE A HOMESCHOOLING PARENT, please messege my yahoo SN the_human_myth. If you don't home school AND you aren't a parent, please do not messege me.

 

I don't get where people say us home schooled kids are weird.I have bin home schooled since I was 4.I have never stepped into a school.I have just as many friends as other teens.My mom puts me in any class or extracurricular activity I want.I taken dance,drama... s on. hav a better group of friends than most teens.They arn't doing drugs or having sex.Were friends because we like doing the same stuff.Plus home schooled kids get more time to socialize!!!!!We have more time to do stuff..we dont spend hours on homework and we get just as good of grades a public school kids.So please stop saying were.....wierd or deprived of social stuff.

 

I am not being mean or yelling...its just all my life people say that stuff or think that about me before the get to know me.

But I am not saying there isn't some wierd one out there......I have met a few!

 

We home school but I'm not much for yahoo. We love home schooling. It's helped the kids get along better with each other and us. They went to public schools until they convinced me to home school.

I would be happy to talk further in PM's here or in the forums.

Valdis

 

just curious, have you ever met a publicly-schooled child who had no flaws?

 

I'd say that homeschoolers are definatly more original than most public schooled kids. They aren't taught to conform and totally taunted every single day if they choose not to be just another face in the crowd. They develop their own beliefs and characteristics. A lot of homeschoolers are labeled as "freaks" but this goes both ways. Homeschoolers can be the most "normal" (Whatever the heck that is) kids you ever meet, or not. They choose who they want to be. And I feel that they are far better with people in most cases. I know that with all of my homeschooled friends vs. my public school friends, the homeschoolers are never as quick to judge anyone or look down upon people. In public schools, that is just the way we are taught.