Mommy Brain

I keep getting hits from people using this search string on Google or other search engines. I’m sure they’re dreadfully disappointed when they reach my site. But in case they’re actually open-minded and care to be educated, I thought I’d post the full text of one of my Club Mom articles.

“What about socialization?” “How will your kids cope in the real world?” These questions are among the most common concerns addressed to homeschooling parents. They can also be the most frustrating. I’ve answered these questions too many times to count, and I’m going to share with you some of the information I’ve gathered that has helped me tackle these topics.

First of all, ask the person to define socialization. In many cases, they won’t be sure exactly what they mean and are simply repeating a buzzword they’ve heard from people who are uninformed about homeschooling. My Encarta dictionary defines socialization as “learning to be part of society: the process involved when young children are becoming aware of society and learning how they are expected to behave.” Once you have found a common understanding of socialization, you can then talk about how your children, as homeschoolers, are being socialized. It is easy at this point to give in to the desire to talk about the extremely negative social situations that are present in the public school system, but I find this counter-productive. I believe it is better to point out that my children are learning how to behave in society by being out in it – grocery shopping, running errands, trips to the library, and doing many other things that children who are in school during the week don’t usually take part in. And just in case they think that my kids are isolated from all other children, I throw in our once a week homeschool class, church children’s activities, and T-ball – just to name a few of our extra-curricular activities.

Next comes the issue of “coping in the real world.” I think most people want to know how homeschooled children will turn out. Will they be able to go to college? Will they be able to hold down a job? Will they be responsible citizens who benefit society?

A study released in 2003 by Dr. Brian Ray of the National Home Education Research Institute of Salem, Oregon addressed these issues. The study, entitled Home Educated and Now Adults: Their Community and Civic Involvement, Views About Homeschooling, and Other Traits, surveyed 7,300 adults who had been homeschooled. Over 5,000 of the participants had been home educated for at least seven years. Dr. Ray has taught in public institutions from elementary through university level and has studied homeschooling for about 19 years. He holds a Ph.D. from Oregon State University in science education.

The results of Dr. Ray’s study were very encouraging:

- Only 4 percent of homeschool graduates consider politics and government to be too complicated to understand, as compared to 35 percent of U.S. adults.

- 76 percent of homeschool graduates aged 18 to 24 voted in the last five years, compared to only 29 percent of the U.S. population in that age group. In older age brackets the percentage of voters is 95 percent or higher for the homeschoolers, compared to 53 percent for the rest of the U.S. population.

- 71 percent of homeschool graduates participate in ongoing community service activities such as coaching a sports team, volunteering at a school or working with a church or neighborhood association, compared to 37 percent of U.S. adults.

- 74 percent of home-educated adults aged 18 to 24 have taken college-level courses, compared to 46 percent of the general U.S. population.

- 95 percent of homeschool graduates say they are glad they were taught at home; 82 percent say they will homeschool their own children.

- 58 percent of adults educated at home say they are very happy with their life, compared to 27 percent of adults who were traditionally educated.

- Homeschooled adults are almost twice as likely to be happy with their jobs.

If these figures aren’t enough to pacify the homeschooling opponents in your life, consider this: John Adams, Abraham Lincoln, and Theodore Roosevelt were all homeschooled. Peter Kindersley (founder of Dorling Kindersley publishers), Amadeo Giannini (founder of Bank of America), Colonel Harlan Sanders, Andrew Carnegie and Joseph Pulitzer were, too. Alexander Graham Bell, Eli Whitney, and Thomas Edison were home educated and became some of our country’s greatest inventors. William Blake, Claude Monet, Robert Frost, Laura Ingalls Wilder, Walt Whitman, Carl Sandburg – the list of home educated artists, writers, scientists, and politicians goes on and on. No one would dare ask if these people were productive citizens who knew how to cope in the real world. They were exceptional citizens who made a difference in the world.

Will all homeschooled children grow up to do extraordinary things? Probably not. But some might. And you can rest assured that homeschooling will prepare them to be active, productive citizens, no matter how many times that dreaded “socialization” question comes up.

Copyright 2006 Carrie Kitzmiller