"Your kids will be socially inept if you home-school" said a gray haird woman. This pretty much sums up the responses I get when I tell people I've decided to homeschool my kids. Almost no one is worried that they won't be able to spell or do math. Overwhelmingly the concern is that they will not "fit in" with their peers.

Is that such a bad thing? I mean, have you seen their peers? I took a look around our small town in Vermont with it's beautiful fall leaves and fabulous teacher to child ratio in schools; and I found something surprising. Even here there are kids that bully, smoke and swear. Even here there is pressure for young people to have sex, drink and defy authority. I think the same could be said for any town in America.

So, I asked a nice, well mannered high school senior, a very bright kid and a great role model for my son how he got through school and kept his high standards. His exact words were "I just plug my ears and look down and I get through fine." Is that really what I want my sons to have to do to survive their education and remain separate from the foul language, inappropriate dress and pressure of their peers? I don't think so.

I realized after meeting several young people with high standards that they are considered unusual at school and the majority of their socialization takes place on their basketball team, at church or in the community theater group where they interact with people who also have high standards. It occurred to me then that by homeschooling my child I would allow them more control over the kind of people they spent time with. They wouldn't be forced to plug their ears and look down as they walked the halls or sat in class for eight hours a day. They could pursue their education in a comfortable place and learn social skills by trying new activities and participating in groups of like minded youth with high standards. That's when I made my decision that homeschooling was for us.

Learn more about this author, Emma Rayanne.
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