Oct 11, 2023·edited Oct 11, 2023Liked by Ted Balaker
I recently attending a medical missions conference. On the first evening a group of attendees settled in at a dinner table and started chatting. All at the table were at least 50 years old, except for a young man on my right. One or two minutes into a conversation having absolutely nothing to do with homeschooling, I turned to him and said: "you were home schooled weren't you?" He responded, "how could you possibly know that?" He was so comfortable communicating with people outside of his peer group and homeschooling was the most likely explanation.
I'm not surprised. There are so many myths, but this "homeschoolers aren't properly socialized" myth is especially absurd. Of course some won't be properly socialized but the features of homeschooling, like age mixing, seem to produce better results in general.
Great anecdote. I'm not surprised. Homeschoolers don't just hold their breath until they get back to "kid world." They're comfortable in the real world.
My kids, 8 of them were (are) also homeschooled. I've observed, and can confirm, many the advantages you mention. But one fact I don't often hear repeated is that a child should seek to be like adults, not like his peers. And the ratio of teacher to student/ taught is almost always better in homeschooling than in a public school. Also, when any of his peers become old enough to become an employer, the shared experiences of their particular age should have worn off a bit.
I recently attending a medical missions conference. On the first evening a group of attendees settled in at a dinner table and started chatting. All at the table were at least 50 years old, except for a young man on my right. One or two minutes into a conversation having absolutely nothing to do with homeschooling, I turned to him and said: "you were home schooled weren't you?" He responded, "how could you possibly know that?" He was so comfortable communicating with people outside of his peer group and homeschooling was the most likely explanation.
I know college professors who say they can spot the homeschoolers by their maturity.
I'm not surprised. There are so many myths, but this "homeschoolers aren't properly socialized" myth is especially absurd. Of course some won't be properly socialized but the features of homeschooling, like age mixing, seem to produce better results in general.
Great anecdote. I'm not surprised. Homeschoolers don't just hold their breath until they get back to "kid world." They're comfortable in the real world.
My kids, 8 of them were (are) also homeschooled. I've observed, and can confirm, many the advantages you mention. But one fact I don't often hear repeated is that a child should seek to be like adults, not like his peers. And the ratio of teacher to student/ taught is almost always better in homeschooling than in a public school. Also, when any of his peers become old enough to become an employer, the shared experiences of their particular age should have worn off a bit.
Very good point: "one fact I don't often hear repeated is that a child should seek to be like adults, not like his peers."
Spot on, Ted!
Here are a couple more resources for you homeschool:
https://vimeo.com/856950720?share=copy
middleschoolmba.com
Many thanks, John! I look forward to checking out these links.