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It's interesting to me that people assume homeschooled kids never leave their homes or interact with other humans.
Ouch!
No lar.
I am just comparing homeschooled kids with public school kids. The latter surely spend more time interacting with their peers compared to the former, right? Of course, homeschooled kids can have support networks in which they socialise with other kids doing homeschooling but that might not happen on a regular basis.
Okay, though public school interactions might not be the best form of socialisation for the development of a well-rounded individual. Depends on the socioeconomic status and attitudes of the students going to a particular school.
Okay, though public school interactions might not be the best form of socialisation for the development of a well-rounded individual.
This is an important point. School is super fake. There's no other time in life when you're rigidly segregated by age and only have people with as little experience as yourself to learn from.
It's common for homeschoolers to make sure their kids interact with younger kids, older kids, and a variety of adults. Some schools make a point of this too, like Montessori.
I think bullying us rare outside of school. Kids bully because they're bored and want to find something more exciting.
I think if you can, try to let the kids handle problems amongst themselves. I jump in when it gets violent but try to stay out of it when it's just arguing.
Home schooling isn't about locking your kids away from the outside world. For me its more about following your interests, learning at your own speed and having fun.
As long as there are other mixed aged home schoolers that the kids can play with a lot of the stigma about socialization goes away.
You make strong arguments and I relate to them personally. For instance, my first grader is developing a passion for dinosaurs — a topic that is not covered in our national curriculum. If I were to be shortsighted and deny him the pleasure of going down this rabbit hole, he wouldn’t have the chance to develop a sense of intrinsic motivation
Yes, I do that!
We’re attempting a I’m a Young Zoologist project helmed by the Science Centre, Singapore!
I actually feel that homeschooling shields children from the harsher realities of societal life. I want my son to socialise, maybe learn how to handle himself in cases of meanness or bullying. I can’t always keep him with me forever, right?