Utterly Meaningless

I got this from my kid’s soccer coach (also an educator) the other day. “Home is not the world,” he said. Last I checked, the world also is not a place where everyone is grouped according to age, but I could be wrong — I’m a homeschooler, so I do not get out much.

On the other hand, our proudly above-average school district is unveiling its random drug-testing policy for middle- and high-schoolers tonight. My knickers are completely twisted over this nonsense, even though I now swear that my children never will darken the doorways of said schools. If the schools, as opposed to home, are like the world, *and* they also are like prisons, I am noy sure that I like where that takes us.

Sheesh. Sometimes I feel like we are getting it from both sides.

Only because we are. 🙂

I find it easier to just not care. 99% of these idiots are not a threat to our freedoms, so I just ignore them. Hell, I coach little league every year and 80% of the parents don’t even realize my kids are homeschooled.

Gosh, if what they say about the socialization in public schools is true, then each consecutive year in them should make kids ‘more socialized’ right? Meaning, the school would get a bunch of unsocialized heathens in Kindergarten and in a course of 12 years turn them into polite, well adjusted kids who never succumb to peer pressure, unsafe sex, underage drinking,cheating, bullying and who are completely well prepared academically and socially to enter the freedom of college and never have any adjustment issues.
Actually, I kind of think the reverse happens. Each consecutive year in public school seems to make a child more vulnerable to peer pressure and the above.
If socialization is such a huge goal of the public school system, then maybe the parents should get their money back. I don’t think they got what their taxes paid for.
If people make these sweeping claims about how poorly homeschoolers will do socially because of lack of public schooling, then they need to prove how fabulously their public school counterparts are doing. Don’t think they can do it.—-

This article verifies something I’d begun to notice years ago. I’ve always been fascinated by the “invincible ignorance” position when discussing socialization with anti-hsers: they’ll concede that a hs’ed child may be polite, happy, confident, work well with others, engaged, and spend plenty of time with other people, both kids and adults … but after conceding all this, bizarrely repeat their concerns about the obvious lack of “socialization.”

It’s become clear over the years that “socialization” is just defined in American society as “attending a school and accumulating the memories and experiences associated with a school upbringing.” Thus by definition a hs’ed child cannot be socialized, no matter what. This is why you see the article’s writer make such a counterintuitive (to us) claim that socialization can’t be achieved through interactions taking place in broader society, and not bothering to offer substantiation. The claim doesn’t need substantiation, because it’s self-proving. Because “socialization” means “going to school.”

With all the problems in the public schools, I wonder why non-homeschoolers are so obsessed with the problems they perceive in homeschooling?

Wouldn’t it make more sense for them to focus on the real problems in their children’s public schools and fix them? Instead they are hung up on a complete strangers educational choice.

I’m with Chris on this issue. I just don’t give a flying f*ck what other people have to say it. I’m going to do whatever the hell I want anyway.

I’m so unsocialised that way. And, I was a product public schools.

Simply hearing about the dangers of life is not a substitute for reality.

So are they saying here that a public school regularly exposes a child to the “dangers of life”?

Just so they know, my kids don’t just hear about these things. They are usually in the car with me when my alcoholic brother calls me to come get him from the hospital or treatment center and has no way to get home. That has pretty much turned them against overindulgence. They have been right here at home getting the news firsthand when other bad stuff happens. So I think they have been fairly well exposed. Then they have Mama’s shoulder to cry on when they realize that the uncle they love is in trouble instead of watching films in class.

Same old argument against homeschooling–just as senseless as it ever was.

Alasandra said “With all the problems in the public schools, I wonder why non-homeschoolers are so obsessed with the problems they perceive in homeschooling?”

Guilt

Sarah G. said “I coach little league every year and 80% of the parents don’t even realize my kids are homeschooled.”

That happened here last year too. Actually….I was sort of offended by the comment. I started to worry that my son was perhaps following the crowd too much. However, this year is a lot different. He’s 13 and both he and my 15 year old are on a team with 13-15 year olds. Since I keep score, I’m in or near the dugout. I’m SHOCKED by the language and vulger talk that is coming out of mouths of these young men! The things they say they want to do to girls they see is extremely disrespectful (maybe even criminal). I’ll happily admit that my boys are having trouble blending into this crowd!

However, even though my kids don’t like the behavior they see, they have no problem playing with them or getting along with them. While they wouldn’t necessarily choose these kids for friends, when it’s time to play ball, they play ball.

Now, project this scenario 10 years in the future. It’s been a few years since I’ve been in the workplace and never in a workplace that only included men, but I suspect that conversations about tying someone up and dragging them into the port-a-potty to have their way with them are not standard operating procedure in most places of employment. In fact, I suspect that they would be covered under the sexual harassment rules.

Hmmmmm….so I’m thinking the PS kids on the baseball team are going to have to make a lot more adjustments to their behavior than my kids, who are learning their social behavior mostly from well-adjusted adults.