The Nay-Sayers and my response Wed. June 10

Yesterday, Wed., a woman came to look at the puppies for the second time. She asked me, with a critical tone, why I homeschool Connor. I briefly explained to her his need for challenge, and how NYS does not mandate that schools have gifted programs or accelerated academics. She restated that she's "Against homeschooling, but perhaps she can see where I might have no other option for a child who is working 3-4 grade levels above his peers." Then she again brought up the socialization issue. Kids need to be with other kids. Yes, I agree, to a point. As I said before, there are a million homeschool groups that we can join when/if he wants to hang out with other kids. But how many other kids does a child really need to be well-socialized? We have a houseful of siblings (biological and otherwise) and beyond that I think a child only needs one or two good friends. Even in school, Connor only really socialized with the two kids he liked. When I worked with 90 other women my own age, I only socialized with the three whose company I enjoyed. The rest of the woman I avoided. As an adult, we choose our friends and seek out their company. Why should children be forced to "socialize" with children that do not share their values or interests? Is the purpose of school to learn academics, or to learn how to get along with others? I believe we can learn how to get along with others just be being active members of our community. If school teaches socialization so well, why then can I point out several people who have poor social skills, after attending public school? Get this straight please--homeschoolers do not sit at home all day with their children chained to the desk in the basement! The other point the woman made is that children often learn better and listen better to someone who is NOT their parent. Agreed. That is why we have a guitar teacher, a horse-back riding teacher, a Chinese teacher, a Tae Kwon Do teacher, a boat-building teacher, a chess teacher, etc. etc. etc. Connor learned a ton about construction in the last few weeks just by hanging out with the workers building our sunroom. He learned about rocks and fossils this week from an instructor who has her PhD in paleontology. Hard to beat that! Thursday night we are attending the show Dinosaurs Alive at the Blue Cross Arena. The experts there will teach us more about the Triassic, Jurassic and Crestaceous periods. At this point in Connor's life, I see no benefit to school. He sees his friends a few times a week, and that is more than enough!!