Socialization

is an oft-mentioned reason in defense of schools against homeschooling, but so much time and effort is spent by the teacher to stop students from talking to each other during the classroom. What are they left with? Recess, lunch, and maybe some "free time," such as during art. It sounds more like a desperate justification of schools than something serious, especially when homeschoolers usually do not educate on their own, but do so in local networks.

I remember talking to the children sitting near me during 4th grade, because I had changed classrooms and in search of new friends. I didn't get in trouble, probably because I wasn't being disruptive and I was known to be a good student by my teacher. But things changed in 5th and 6th grade, and I think I may have gotten in trouble not a few times for being talkative. I had changed to a new school and was still in search of friends--but this was never offered as an explanation for my behavior, not by my mother and not by my teachers. Now that I think of it, it is easy to become a little bit resentful, even if everyone was doing what was expected of them.

Children do have a natural instinct to socialize and talk with others -- should this be surpressed for so long during the school day? This is one advantage of homeschooling children up to a certain age -- less time is needed for formal instruction and work, and more time can be devoted to other activities which do incorporate socializing. You can't do this if you're attempting to teach a mass of children. This rarely comes out in parent-student conferences, even when I sat in on a few several years ago. Being silent is prized, and if students talk too much so that they prevent others from learning or are disruptive, then it is a problem. But children too are following their instincts, so is mass education supportive of natural development or is it counter to natural development?

Schools are not places to make up for the loss of community. In a true community, there would be plenty of opportunities for children to "socialize" with other children and also with other adults. In as much as schools work against the natural development of children then this is a legitimate criticism of their pedagogy, no matter what their defenders claim about the benefit of "socialization."