Do you remember the television show called MythBusters where the hosts looked into urban legends, tall tales, and myths? They used a scientific approach to determine whether or not something was true, and demonstrated problem analysis. They also blew stuff up.
How about we bust some myths surrounding homeschooling, socialization, and isolation? If someone has ever questioned your decision to homeschool, they probably asked about socialization. So you can either reply with a snarky comment or you can take a different approach and try to educate them about the myths.
1. Myth Busting: Homeschoolers are isolated.
Unlike children who attend public schools, homeschooled children do not have to spend all day in the confines of a classroom (or their home). They can go on field trips, to the grocery store, and the library. These all provide valuable learning opportunities. What is a better way to study history than visiting a Civil War battlefield and witnessing a reenactment? Or practicing budgeting skills while shopping for groceries and then learning to cook by preparing a meal with those groceries? And don’t forget the world that is opened up at the library or the classes and other resources many libraries offer to their patrons.
2. Myth Busting: Homeschoolers won’t have friends outside their family.
Friendships are not only formed on the school bus, in the cafeteria, or during group projects. A traditional school setting may only provide your young children with friends of the same age, while homeschooling allows them to form friendships with children and adults of varying ages. While a homeschooler’s first friend may be their brother or sister, they will quickly make many more friends.
Attending co-ops and homeschool groups provides wonderful opportunities for making friends. Extracurricular activities offered by local libraries, sporting organizations, or churches provide more opportunities. And your children will also find friends among the children of your network of homeschool parents too.
3. Myth Busting: Homeschoolers are odd or weird.
Have you seen the popular meme about a mom, her children, and being weird? It shares that the children never had a chance. They were destined to be weird because their mom was weird. I’ve seen versions of the meme that relate specifically to homeschooling, while others are just a parenting meme. So basically all children—those who attend public or private schools or those who are homeschooled—can be weird. It all depends on one’s perspective.
Homeschoolers are different because their parents are raising them that way. We don’t want our children to be the same as the rest of the world. As Christian parents, we want to raise our children with a Biblical worldview. Most of the world is not raising their children with the same approach.
4. Myth Busting: Homeschoolers lack the skills necessary for the real world.
Let’s bust another myth! Homeschool graduates are very well prepared for the real world. They are able to spend time on real-world tasks like budgeting, cooking, cleaning, shopping, and car maintenance in addition to reading, writing, and arithmetic. Many colleges and universities actively seek homeschool graduates because of the valuable skills they bring with them. And then there are those homeschool graduates who start their own businesses.
Homeschool graduates are ready to work with people of various ages and backgrounds due to their real world experiences during homeschooling. They are not isolated from the outside world. As teens they hold jobs and even attend college classes for dual credit. All these things prepare them for life after graduation.
More Resources for Your Family
Stephanie Morrison shares about the socialization myth here: Episode 11: The Socialization Myth Debunked.
Favorite authors share in The Homeschool Minute about socialization.
Socialization Again? By Kirsten West
HomeschoolingFinds.com Author
This article has been written by Kristen Heider. She is the Business Building Team Manager of The Old Schoolhouse® and the Social Media Manager of HomeschoolingFinds.com. She shares more about her family’s homeschooling journey at A Mom’s Quest Teach.