Homeschooling and the Gotcha Question

When I was homeschooling I often had conversations with folks about what was involved in the decision to homeschool. After a brief discussion I could always depend on hearing the "gotcha" question: "But what about socialization?" My response was always the same - a laugh and the reply, "Isn't that one of the arguments in favor of home schooling?"

What's normal, I'd like to know, about socialization that involves being together all day with people your own age and one adult, usually a woman, who exercises crowd control? I always found that homeschooled students, unlike their regular schooled peers, were 1. comfortable around adults, 2. had greater eye contact, 3. enjoyed adult conversation, and 4. were often politer in groups.

But now the research is there to support the socialization advantage. Last December J. Michael Smith, president of the Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA), had an op-ed in the Washington Times reporting on studies showing the success of adult homeschoolers in both the U.S. and Canada. The adults who were homeschooled are happier, more engaged in their communities, more likely to vote, earn higher incomes, and none of them are on welfare. Sounds like homeschooling increased positive socialization and decreased negative socialization.

So congratulations to all you grownup homeschoolers. You are the best advertisement of all that homeschooling works!