Comments on: Socialisation – The Hidden Agenda

By: susan wight

susan wight — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 07:01:08 +0000

Hi Mrs M,
Leaving the school system behind can seem very scary. One thing to keep in mind is that home education is not an irreversible decision. Kids go in and out of school at every age. Our family originally planned to home educate for grade five when we pulled our eldest son out of school. We thought that if homeschooling didn’t work out, we could still put him back in for grade six to prepare him for high school. We never did go back – we’ve now been out of the system for 11 years and that son has moved on to university. Our younger two boys are still learning at home.

To help you with your decision – take a look at our information sheet. These articles on Socialisation may also be useful:

Does School Socialise Children?
Socialisation and Home Education

Feel free to email me with any questions at editor@home-ed.vic.edu.au

By: Mrs M

Mrs M — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 12:42:44 +0000

Thank you for a very interesting article. Just about to take the plunge with home education ourselves but we are not quite there yet. The biggest fear I think all of us have is that it could be the wrong decision for the children and for the family unit. We are so terrified of getting this wrong that it is affecting our ability to make the right decision for our children. If you are able to point me in the direction of any other articles to help convince us it’s absolutely right for us, please do let me know. Many thanks again.

By: Tamika Everingham

Tamika Everingham — Thu, 17 Feb 2011 06:14:26 +0000

Great article. I myself was a product of the state govt. but after being insulted and fined for looking after the welfare of my child and told I didn’t have an opinion when my son was attending the local govt. school. I was treated as second rate and not relevant whereas the Dr’s and the teachers had more of an idea whether my child was well enough to attend school. As it happened I was right and my son was very ill with an infected front tooth. The nerve inside the tooth had gone septic and was making him ill. But seeing as the Dr’s couldn’t see his infection he was only classed as having a bacterial infection and the looks I got from wanting to have him stay at home were incredible my family was even convinced I was making things up and needed to attend school. But I had to reassess what I was doing surely there was ‘OTHERWAYS’ of educating children to become confident educated and successful citizens in society. Homeschooling has been an enlightening and wonderful experience and these wonderful websites have given me the confidence to continue with our journey even though everyone else is against us. I believe in my children and I believe in myself that we are doing the right thing for our family. I have never been bullied in school but the bullying and harrassment I have received for chosing the path less walked is incredible but then we also have a little ray of sunshine when we cross paths with those that believe in us and our path we have chosen. I have even had a lady approach me and ask me about homeschooling. My confidence is getting stronger each year we homeschool and I can see the wonderful little people my children are growing into and the joy I get from knowing that I have been apart of that journey is amazing.

By: susan wight

susan wight — Fri, 17 Sep 2010 10:40:26 +0000

Hi Clare,
I agree that socialisation is very different to social skill-building, and also that part of the process of building social skills involves learning to deal with situations that cause discomfort, confusion and anxiety. Home ed kids learn to cope with all these things firstly through family interactions. Conflict is a natural part of life that arises naturally as a part of family life. Family members disagree quite often and learning to sort out such differences is invaluable in terms of social skills. As home ed children move from being toddlers to young children and older children, teenagers and adults, their social circle gradually widens and their experiences broaden. Many home ed families find that they seem to spend a lot of time in problem solving with young children because the family spends a lot of time together. They also find that, as the children grow, they become quite good at resolving their own problems.
Regards
Sue

By: Clare Sicuro

Clare Sicuro — Tue, 14 Sep 2010 11:05:46 +0000

Thanks you for well articulating a perspective on socialization. My belief is that socialization is very different to social skill building, one is about comformity one is about building capacity. Part of building capacity is learning to deal with situations that cause discomfort, confusion and anxiety. A question I would love to hear others views on is:
If a child is home schooled and is surrounded by non-conformity and engagement, how do they cope with situations that cause conflict and concern, situations where there is no chance of avoiding emotional pain, how do they build capacity in these areas?

Just about to make the jump into home education and need to peek under as many rocks as I can!!!!!

By: Vness

Vness — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 17:27:56 +0000

Enjoyed and was inspired by this article. I wasn’t home educated but but my schooling was supplemented by some great home education mirroring a lot of what was said. Am now considering home schooling my kids to age 7.

By: Non-School Nottingham

Non-School Nottingham — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 16:42:52 +0000

Reminds me somehow of that famous Gandhi quote, “Be the change you wish to see in the world”.

As Laura’s comment above implies, part of the mythical/stereotypical picture of “home education” is the idea that children spend nearly all their time at home and with only the children in their own family. In most cases that’s very far from the truth. It’s as if people can’t imagine that children might meet each other anywhere else than in school. (in that regard I don’t think the term “home education” does us any favours, but it does seem to be the most popular one at this time )

Anyway, thanks for writing this – some interesting history there which I don’t know much about.

By: Ruti

Ruti — Mon, 03 May 2010 17:58:20 +0000

Thank you so much for this – it totally reflects a significant dream I had about the education system as a tool of state control. How important it is to be able to raise free thinkers rather than production line style educated children. The learner – teacher ratio is also vastly superior to anything the state can offer, without the expense of private schooling. No wonder private tutoring was so poular in time past!

By: Laura

Laura — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 14:24:43 +0000

I am a BA (Hons) Education student and currently writing an essay on the pros and cons of home education. I was against it for I believed school is essential for children to learn how to be with other children their own age. I still believe this however after reading this article it has broadened my mind and my essay will definately now show two clear sides to the arguement. Thank you!!