The Socialization Trap by Rick Boyer

Finished reading: Summer 2009

The modern homeschool movement is no longer a new phenomenon. It has been around for at least a good 30 years at this point. Still, it is not that uncommon for me to hear people say that their one reservation with homeschooling is the social aspect. (Apparently the "poor academics" argument has evaporated and is no longer seen as an issue.) The socialization argument does seem to keep coming up from time to time though. In The Socialization Trap Rick Boyer does a good job at explaining why the home, not school, is the best social environment for children.

Myth of Good Public/Private School Socialization

In chapter one Boyer points out the myth that a typical school environment is actually good for children socially. It is a myth because you are taking a young impressionable child and putting him or her into a situation where most of the time is spent with peers--Not exactly the best examples for learning adult maturity. I'm not sure I entirely see why many people see this as an advantage of public and private schools.

Assembly Line Education

Public and private schools also have the tendency toward mass production. Schools just can not practically have the staffing required for one-on-one attention from teachers. The result is a reliance on standardized testing. But since when is the measure of competence not having any educational gaps? Shouldn't the measure be based on identifying those with exceptional giftings in certain areas? The cause of this is, I think, social. It comes from the lack of time adults spend nurturing the giftings of that child.

The Best Socialization

This brings me to the final and what I think is the most important point the book brought out--That the home is the best social environment for young people. The primary reason for this is that the home is where the parents are. Nothing beats a one-on-one personal life trainer.

Conclusion

So, in summary, the idea that homeschoolers are missing out on socialization is, in effect, a trap. It ignores the harm done by peer groups. It ignores the individual nature of the student's needs by mechanically requiring standardized results. Most significantly, it disregards the significant role that parents should play in the life of a child.