Here is your chance to answer the Socialization question!

We have been offered an opportunity to weigh in on the socialization question by a former homeschooler who is researching development of social skills in homeschooled adolescents. If you haven't seen this yet, please consider whether you would be willing for your child to participate.

Dear Homeschool Family,

My name is Jason Downing, and I am a former homeschooled student who benefited from the support of homeschool organizations like HSLDA. As a doctoral candidate, I am looking for individuals to participate in a research project relating to the development of social skills in homeschooled adolescents. Eligible homeschool participants are needed to complete a simple survey questionnaire.

As a former homeschooled student, I understand the importance in offering as much information to families as possible, as they weigh the pros and cons of home education. It is my personal belief home educated students develop the same social skills as their public school counterparts. Your participation in this research is of vital importance, as the home education option is continually debated.

My research centers on a comparative study between homeschooled and publicly educated adolescents. The focus of the research is to determine if a measurable difference exists in the development of social skills between these two groups.

The research consists of a social skills questionnaire developed by Pearson Assessments. Pearson is a nationally known as creating accurate and effective research tools. The questionnaire itself will take approximately 15–20 minutes and consists of the eligible participants answering 39 fill-in-the-blank questions.

I am looking for participants who meet the following eligibility requirements:

• Homeschooled for at least two years;
• Between the ages of 12-18 years of age;
• Currently enrolled in a homeschool program.

A packet will be mailed to all willing participants. This packet will consist of the following:

• Pearson’s Social Skills Rating Questionnaire;
• Instructions on how to complete the survey questionnaire;
• A pre-paid return envelope;
• As the research will involve individuals under the age of 18, a consent form will be distributed for the parent(s) or legal guardians of the chosen individuals. Consent forms will also be distributed to the participants.

As a former homeschooled student, I also understand the importance of privacy for any participants of this research project. In order to protect the identity of the participants, no participant’s identity will be collected or disclosed during the course of the research project. Only the overall results from the total population of participants will be used as part of the research.

If you are willing to participate in this research, please contact me directly—by phone at 571-212-1355 or by email at Jason.downing@waldenu.edu. I will be happy to answer any questions you might have regarding this project.

Thank you for your time and willingness to participate,

Jason Downing

What exactly is home schooling?

Home schooling is one of the fastest growing alternatives to public education today. Simply put, it is teaching your own children at home. When we first started home schooling in 1989, there were still states where it was not legal, and most people had not heard of it. We were likely to hear – “Is it legal” “But what about socialization?” or “Why would anyone want to teach their children at home?” Even our families were opposed to the idea. Hadn’t we attended public school and turned out fine?

Nineteen years later, people still ask those questions, but there is less resistance since home schooling is now legal in all fifty states. Nearly everyone knows someone who home schools, or at least can name their sister’s boyfriend’s uncle’s ex-wife’s hairdresser who home schools. And even if they cannot, there is a growing body of adults who are former homeschoolers distinguishing themselves in every field of endeavor, from medicine to the military.

The laws governing home schooling programs differ from state to state. There is no need to reinvent the wheel here - there are already many good websites where you can learn about the specific requirements in your state. The bottom line is the same, however, no matter where you live: you have decided that you are going to take full responsibility for your child’s education. So the first thing you have to decide is whether you are willing for the buck to stop with you.

It isn’t necessary for you to do all the teaching. There are often local networking groups who have email lists where you can keep track of events and classes offered. Parents from several families may band together and offer a coop, where each one will teach a subject on a rotating basis for a small group of students. There may even be classes offered at your community college, or a special enrichment program for homeschoolers in an institutional setting like a church or a community center.

But it is necessary for you to take all the responsibility. When you have completed whatever grade level you have decided you are comfortable with – whether you just take them through elementary school or all the way through high school - what your child knows, or doesn’t know, will be largely a function of what you exposed him to. You will not be able to blame the schools, or the teachers, or “the kids at school” for any shortfall in your program or in your child’s education.

Don’t let that frighten you away from home schooling. If you can teach your children good study skills, how to read, write and communicate well, how math is used in the real world, and how to find out what they need to know when they need to know it, you are a wonderful candidate for a homeschooling parent! From that basic starting point, it will be entirely up to you and your child to decide what subjects you cover, and in what depth. You can choose a broad based “liberal arts” education, or you can custom tailor your child’s curriculum to a particular interest or ability.

If you are a home based entrepreneur, working with you in your business can give your child interpersonal and professional skills, and an opportunity to apply his academic knowledge in a real world setting. It can also give you a nice tax deduction if you hire your child and pay him a salary. And it will give your child an opportunity to have his own money and learn how to handle it in a controlled setting.

20 years later: Socialization is still a straw man

When I first began homeschooling my daughter, New Jersey was still an "approval" state and we were the second home school family in town.

We were bombarded with questions and regarded with suspicion. "Is that legal?" "Why would you want to have your kids around all day?" "What if you have to teach them trigonometry?"

And the ever popular "What about socialization?"

Incredibly, we were asked that question most recently about two weeks ago. Now that our daughter is 22, long graduated and gone. (We still have one high schooling at home.)

Well, I found a great bit of wisdom from an editorial comment by Karl Priest that appeared in the Sunday Gazette - Mail; Charleston, W.V. back in January of this year.

"Socialization in public schools is often detrimental to the values parents instill at home. Many young mothers discover their children learn to be disobedient while at school. Contrary to what is commonly thought, socialization should actually be a major reason to homeschool."

Right on, Karl.