re: #407 William Barnett-Lewis

Considering that the people - parents and children - are society and that the makeup of that society - the social contract to use the old fashioned phrase - is heavily dependent on the content of education, I would say that is a false distinction. I would also advise anyone, left or right, against homeschooling for social reasons as well but it has more to do with the fact that many/most of those I’ve know who were home schooled were not properly socialized and have had an unnecessarily hard time adjusting to living in the majority society. Arguably they did not learn the social contract in school and hence had a harder time understanding what is expected of them.

If nothing else, an important part of school is learning that, no, you are not allowed to smack the snot out of the kid next to you just because he’s annoying.

See, I have the opposite experience. In fact, many of the homeschooled kids I knew were more well-adjusted than the malcontents I went to public high school with. However, the homeschooled kids were extensively involved in their community and church, and often participated in extracurricular activities at the local school, as well.