The first lies in examining the implicit assumption that the socialization at public schools - the "normal" alternative to homeschooling - is a standard of excellence. I do not want this article to devolve into public school bashing, so this paragraph will be brief. It must be pointed out, though, that the socialization at public schools is not without very significant concerns. Besides the more spectacular but relatively uncommon problems such as school shootings and gangs , drugs (including alcohol) and sexual promiscuity are serious problems among public high school and junior high students. Bullying is a problem from the earliest grades onward, and while some claim that being able to handle bullies is a valuable skill, I doubt many adults have actually had to deal with adult bullies. Along side these kinds of negative socialization is another issue. Campus-based schools socialize students to function in an unrealistic age-segregated environment. In real life, most adults work and socialize with people of a wide variety of ages. Socialization is a concern rather than a strength for public schools.

Secondly, claiming that homeschooled children aren’t socialized is another way of saying that homeschooling families isolate their children. Stating the idea this plainly almost demonstrates how ridiculous it is. Homeschooling families don’t isolate their children. In one eight day period, our daughter was exposed to chicken pox twice and rubella once through the various activities in which she participated. During "school time," homeschooled children may receive instruction at home from their parent(s). On the other hand, those children might on some days participate in a co-op class or special class with other homeschooled children. Many homeschooling parents plan park days and field trips for their children, often two or more such days a month. Homeschooling parents also commonly organize activities such as bands, choirs, sports leagues, and clubs for their children; sometimes the children are the organizers. For our family, isolation was so not a problem that we had to limit outside of the home activities during "school time" to twice a week.

Finally, on top of all their "school time" activities, homeschooling families do many of the same kinds of things most families do. Parents teach their children, starting from toddlerhood, about manners and proper behavior toward other people. This is a normal part of parenting; the fancy name for it is "socialization" (much of which is accomplished before the children reach Kindergarten age). Homeschooling families participate in social gatherings and community service much as do other families: church, Sunday School, and other religious gatherings; service clubs; sports leagues; Scouts, Campfire, and similar youth clubs and organizations; 4H; volunteer work with charities.

Between school-time activities, and their family and community activities, homeschooled children are well socialized. One unique advantage homeschooling offers is that homeschooled children are usually socializing with people of a wide range of ages. In this way, homeschooled students learn to respect children younger than them, while learning more mature behavior from older children and adults. Thus, "socialization" ends up being a positive aspect of homeschooling rather than being an argument against it.

Afterword: Our family is in its 18 year of homeschooling. We started and co-directed a support group for homeschoolers in the San Jose, CA area. We also publish a resource directory, now online (http://home.earthlink.net/~hrpages/), for San Jose area homeschoolers. Through these and other activities, we have had the privilege of becoming acquainted with many hundreds of homeschooling families and learn of the kinds of activities in which their families participate.