Unsocialized Homeschooler on Board!

Ha! The first time I attended the North Carolina Home Educators conference, I saw a booth in the book fair selling any and everything that had that saying on it; bumper stickers, t-shirts, canvas bags and even little onsies. I smiled. At least I know that the majority of homeschoolers have a sense of humor about the question "outsiders" have regarding the socialization of our children. I know the type of socialization they are referring to. They are talking about socialization among their peers in school. But let me make something abundantly clear, homeschooled kids ARE socialized. They just don't spend 6 hours a day, 5 days a week with the same kids in the same school. Also, parents don't homeschool their children to isolate them from the world. On the contrary. I can't speak for all homeschoolers but we choose this path to give James a better education, more opportunities to learn outside the classroom and to meet a variety of people. There are even MORE reasons for why we are choosing this path but I am saving that for a separate post.

I know what you are thinking though, "Homeschooled kids are weird". Right? Well, sure. They ARE different. But for the record, I was/am weird so that makes it ok with me. I know what my friends think of me and if that's weird...then cool! I don't mind if James grows up to be "weird". I think people will like his brand of weird. And to kind of solidify the decision for me, I saw a Facebook post the other day with this great article about how homeschooled kids are odd. Of course I had to read it...and I loved it. So I wanted to re-post it here to share with you. Yes, My Grown Homeschooled Children are Odd- And Yours Will be Too!

Here's a little taste of what Diane Flynn Keith had to say:
I'll tell you what I think. The truth is, homeschoolers are not well-socialized.
There. I've said it. Someone had to.
I say this with the greatest respect and affection for the homeschooled or unschooled. Nevertheless, in my experience, homeschoolers deviate from the norm. They are not well-socialized in the traditional school sense. They are odd ducks swimming in a big, standardized social pool. They stand out from the crowd, and a trained eye can spot them a mile away.

OMG! I can't believe she wrote that! LOL And then she says this:
Heck, the very act of homeschooling questions the power and authority of government and societal norms. By choosing to homeschool, you have set an example for your kids to defy conventional wisdom and not to accept the status quo.

Well, right out of the gate, I am teaching James to question everything. And he does! I remember wanting to ask questions and was afraid to raise my hand for fear of looking dumb or getting in trouble. Why in the world did my Geometry teacher sit beside that damn overhead projector day after day after day writing problems when I couldn't figure out WHAT I was supposed to be LEARNING!!!!! I wanted to scream the question at her! But I didn't want to get sent to the Principle's office or in-school suspension so I never asked. I never told anyone that I was at my boiling point with frustration. I wanted to learn geometry. I copied down everything she wrote on the overhead. But I didn't learn. What was I supposed to DO with geometry anyway? All of this to say that the academics are the priority. Even if you have a child in the public schools, you would agree with that. Making friends comes in later down the list. You want your kids to have a good education...first and foremost. James will have a great journey ahead of him and he will have friends that are enough to sustain him and make him happy. He will. So stop worrying about it.