Can Socialization Be Effected Due To Homeschooling?

The biggest fear that parent who opt for educating their children by distance learning is that unless the children are in an environment full of their peers, they will not develop the social skills they need. This is nothing but a myth that should be dismissed with no further waste of time.

Like all myths, it is caused by a lack of understanding of the facts involved. Most people who raise the question of "socializing " children whose parents have opted to provide then with distance learning at home do no understand what the word means. Socialization is a process of getting to know, understand and appreciate the norms and habits of a society you are part of. For example, if you had to live for a few years in another country with a different culture, you would have to be "socialized" into that culture so that you know how to conduct yourself. If you do not learn, you will be an outsider for as long as you remain in that country and therefore be cut off from a large part of its culture, knowledge and benefits.

In the case of a child in homeschool, the parent, who is a member of the society the child will join, is the first and primary source of knowledge. A parent can easily socialize a child in the norms of accept behavior. And when this option is compared to the traditional school environment, the benefits become even more clear. In a school children are limited to interaction with their own age group and a few teachers who are always seen as remote beings. Any non organized time in school is usually limited to about an hour when every social activity has to be packed in, irrespective of any subtleties. And in the class, everything is performance driven and based on comparisons of how one child has done in contrast to the others. Not a very appealing scenario, is it.

But in the online high school option, when the child is at home, the interaction is with parents and siblings, a wider age group. There is no pressure to perform or be thought less of. Children can progress at their own pace and a slower learner will not be help up to ridicule and lose self confidence. A fast learner will not be able to compare himself with the average and become arrogant. Children being educated at home away from the peer pressure have the freedom to follow their individual interests and the time to explore what appeals to them. Because of all this, their social development does not suffer and the confidence and maturity homeschool children display debunks the myth of them needing to be "socialized." A confident intelligent child who has learned the basic social skills from its parents does not need to be socialized.

Of course, children should not grow up in isolation. Arranging outings, activities and team sports with other like minded parents and kids will provide the children with the social framework they need to be comfortable in the presence of others.

To learn more about a quality, distance learning homeschool please visit Laurel Springs School. Laurel Springs School is an accredited, college prep private school offering distance learning programs and teacher services for students in grades K-12. Laurel Springs uses web-based communication tools, a standards-based curriculum, and personalized instruction to offer students the highest quality home education experience based on your child's learning style.