Friday, June 3, 2011
ACKKKKK! Quick rant...
I was just watching one of those cheesy crime dramas - I'm generally not a fan of them, but I somehow got sucked into this one. Anyway, the serial killer in this show turned out to be a homeschooled teenage boy. The investigator says to the killer's mother in a voice dripping with shock and contempt, "Mrs. So-and-so, do you KNOW what social isolation can DO to a child?" I was still sitting there with my mouth dropped open about a full minute later, well into the commercial break. There really aren't words to express my indignation... just, frickin WOW.
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Well, I guess it's a good question. My homeschooled son would have no idea what social isolation does to a child. But I would, thanks to my public school years! And I would also have a very good idea what bullying, cliques, and peer pressure can do to a child, beginning at age 5, which my son is also clueless about.
ReplyDeleteThe thing about homeschooling is that if your children are going to have friendships, you are going to have to get out and make them. Kinda like real life! I have unfortunately met many people who have problems with this, but most of them are not homeschoolers. When I hear the socialization question, I always wonder if the person who is asking me is someone who themselves doesn't have many real strategies for making friends, and assume I don't either. And unlike them, I'm too polite to ask!
I feel the same way, Laura. I also remember the "socialization" I got from my public school education and I don't feel that anything I learned in that artificial environment was helpful to me as an adult. I was never bullied or anything, but the stress of just trying to fit in enough to stay under the radar was quite real, and draining. I don't even think it was anything I consciously realized, other than the palpable relief I felt at the end of a school year, and the dread I felt as the summer break came to a close and the beginning of the next school year loomed. I'd bet that the people you've met who have problems making friends would be more comfortable if given their own space, and encouraged to follow their interests - which would likely lead them to meet others who share similar interests - and a real shared interest is a much easier way to connect with someone, rather than simply being the exact same age and living in the same neighborhood.
ReplyDeleteAkkkk! What show was this? We should start a boycott!
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