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I've tried to keep an open mind about homeschooling, but every child or adult I've come across that was homeschooled is just, weird... I'm disappointed the art

I've tried to keep an open mind about homeschooling, but every child or adult I've come across that was homeschooled is just, weird... I'm disappointed the article didn't go over how/if the kids get the much needed social interaction. Kids need conflict, and a lot of it, in order to fit in well with society (and especially the workplace).

mercer 12y ago
I'd love to see a proper study on this, but my experience with almost all of these homeschooled individuals (including myself) is that we are definitely 'weird', but in spite of that, or I suspect because of that, we somehow all do very well in our own unique ways. Many of us are freelancers, consultants, or creative workers, where fitting in is not so important, and being a bit odd is sometimes even celebrated. We often find similarly-weird partners and friends. Weirdness, in my opinion, is a very good trait, provided you can be 'normal' enough when you have to be. Most homeschooled kids I know spent part of their lives in the normal system, or had extra-curricular activities in more normal social settings, though. Furthermore, I know many more people who were seriously damaged because of the social interactions in school. And when you think about it, that kind of makes sense. It seems (relatively) more healthy to me for a kid to spend most of his time with a mix of adults and other kids, often within a strong community-setting, rather than stuck in a classroom with only other kids of their age and an often slightly disinterested teacher (or one going through the motions).
- SiVal 12y ago
  When I hear some people talk about homeschooled kids being "weird", I have to wonder how weird they themselves would seem to others if transported to some other time or place where the local conformists had conformed to a different set of cultural assumptions than those they had conformed to. What if the local culture had expectations that they found objectionable? I have to wonder whether they would decide to re-conform to whatever happened to be the local fashion in thought and behavior, go along and get along, or whether they would choose a different path and be thought "weird". If they were willing to deviate from unfortunate social norms and risk being different, why not do it here and now? It matters because I don't take for granted that the current culture in many public schools is the right one to conform to. It would be quite a coincidence if the local culture of the moment just happened to represent the best a human being could be.
  - mercer 12y ago
    That's exactly it. Partly because of homeschooling, I've been instilled with an, I think, rather healthy skepticism to 'normal' things. Furthermore, being in a public school doesn't just mean conforming to 'local culture', it means conforming to the local culture of those in a small age range. I'd say conformism coupled with being a teen is significantly worse than just having to adapt to 'local culture'.
prostoalex 12y ago
http://www.ranker.com/list/amazing-people-you-might-not-have-known-were-homeschooled/bhenry?page=2 http://www.ranker.com/list/amazing-people-you-might-not-have...

mercer 12y ago

I'd love to see a proper study on this, but my experience with almost all of these homeschooled individuals (including myself) is that we are definitely 'weird', but in spite of that, or I suspect because of that, we somehow all do very well in our own unique ways. Many of us are freelancers, consultants, or creative workers, where fitting in is not so important, and being a bit odd is sometimes even celebrated. We often find similarly-weird partners and friends. Weirdness, in my opinion, is a very good trait, provided you can be 'normal' enough when you have to be. Most homeschooled kids I know spent part of their lives in the normal system, or had extra-curricular activities in more normal social settings, though. Furthermore, I know many more people who were seriously damaged because of the social interactions in school. And when you think about it, that kind of makes sense. It seems (relatively) more healthy to me for a kid to spend most of his time with a mix of adults and other kids, often within a strong community-setting, rather than stuck in a classroom with only other kids of their age and an often slightly disinterested teacher (or one going through the motions).

SiVal 12y ago
When I hear some people talk about homeschooled kids being "weird", I have to wonder how weird they themselves would seem to others if transported to some other time or place where the local conformists had conformed to a different set of cultural assumptions than those they had conformed to. What if the local culture had expectations that they found objectionable? I have to wonder whether they would decide to re-conform to whatever happened to be the local fashion in thought and behavior, go along and get along, or whether they would choose a different path and be thought "weird". If they were willing to deviate from unfortunate social norms and risk being different, why not do it here and now? It matters because I don't take for granted that the current culture in many public schools is the right one to conform to. It would be quite a coincidence if the local culture of the moment just happened to represent the best a human being could be.
- mercer 12y ago
  That's exactly it. Partly because of homeschooling, I've been instilled with an, I think, rather healthy skepticism to 'normal' things. Furthermore, being in a public school doesn't just mean conforming to 'local culture', it means conforming to the local culture of those in a small age range. I'd say conformism coupled with being a teen is significantly worse than just having to adapt to 'local culture'.

prostoalex 12y ago

http://www.ranker.com/list/amazing-people-you-might-not-have-known-were-homeschooled/bhenry?page=2 http://www.ranker.com/list/amazing-people-you-might-not-have...