The concept of homeschooling has been around for centuries, but its practice has recently become increasingly more relevant. Throughout most of the United States and globally, more and more students are doing their studies away from their schools, classrooms and even neighbors.
With every advantage that it offers, there is also a potential drawback, as several students are affected in terms of their social isolation. This article delves deeper into this topic and explains the social isolation brought by homeschooling.
What is Homeschooling?
Homeschooling, or ‘home education’, is the practice whereby a child, or a set of children, are taught and are coordinated and supervised by their parents at home, instead of sending them to an educational institution. Such teaching has been a method since the 19th century, but it has become increasingly popular in more recent years due to its practicality.
Families have the option to devise the schedule and address the curriculum towards the children’s individual needs, interests and goals, although it still needs to abide by their state’s laws and their regional school district. Despite such, homeschooling is relatively free of conventional educational rigor and bureaucracy, which might be a benefit for some families.
What are the Benefits of Homeschooling?
Homeschooling offers several advantages that make it an attractive option for both parents and students. Firstly, since the child is being supervised and taught by their biological parent, the family tie and bond is strengthened; parents become reminded of the different stages of their child’s development, leading to saving a part of a child’s childhood memory that classroom-taught children might not experience.
Curriculum-wise, it has no limit and can go toward several interests, and be adjusted as much as desired by the family. Furthermore, it can also give a more flexible schedule to the student, making it easier to socialize, do sports practices and participate in other activities. Lastly, homeschooling removes the potential negative impact of specific schooling environment and experiences, like bullying, stress and peer pressure, which might help the student concentrate of their studies and excel.
What is Social Isolation Due to Homeschooling?
Social isolation due to homeschooling pertains to the effect of being separated from the children of their age from other schools, especially within their immediate vicinity. Such isolation may cause cognitive development strain since different voices and opinions within the same representative demographic might be hindering the student’s educational growth. While this can be justified by extracurricular activities and involvements, parental limitations or schedules might not allow them to go beyond or can risk such depletion of educational enrichment.
Such isolation may lead to mental disturbances in the student, cramped up space to express themselves and delayed student development, which may be hard to identify.
What are Some Symptoms of Social Isolation?
The symptoms of social isolation can be hard to make out, as it might be difficult to pinpoint the actual cause. Some of the warning signs include avoidance of eye contact, disaffection toward conversations, lack of interest in social activities, and change in behavior due to a decrease in sociability. Other signs that affect children might include exaltation of loneliness, dissatisfaction with their existing social circle, and a decrease in self-esteem.
Additionally, a lack of intergenerational relationships within the family and a decrease in physical activities due to lack of social encouragements might be other signs to pay attention to.
How Can the Social Aspects of Homeschooling be Resolved?
There are several ways on how to alleviate the social stigma of homeschooling. One of the most essential is for a parent or guardian to ensure that their child still interacts with people. If a family does not have enough relatives or friends with kids for the child’s age, the attending can attend after school activities, join a local homeschooling co-op or take online classes.
To fortify such interactions, a family can consider joining online homeschool platforms, which can enable children to interact with peers from different locations without having to leave their home. Furthermore, joining a physical or virtual library can also be a way to familiarize their child in different activities, topics and people.
Are There Any Activities That Could Help Homeschooled Children in Developing their Social Skills?
Yes. Despite potential isolation, there are several activities that can help children in developing their social skills, specially the one that attends homeschooling.
For one, they can join engaging physical activities like sports, dance, or any physical skill; this can not only be beneficial to build their skills and physical endurance, but their social ones as well. Additionally, writing, drawing and creating can also be a source of social connections; for example, creating a blog or podcasting can help find a community that can interact and give constructive criticism to their work. Also, having a good long conversation with people from diverse backgrounds, like mentors, counselors or even beneficial authority figures, can help a child identify their needs and how to communicate them properly.
What About Building Social Skills Online?
Building and developing social skills online is possible, although it still requires some forms of discipline. At the very least, such form of interaction requires basic manners, a degree of common sense, and a strong emotional awareness that can come from understanding other people’s perspective and emotional peaks. For instance, interconnecting with writing, being able to join virtual conversations and communities, can lead to more developed writing skills that can be useful when communicating through emails, messages and even in real life.
But it is essential to still emphasize that online socializing needs to be backed and monitored by proper parental guidance and supervision, as inappropriate behavior and predatory interactions may still occur.
How Parents Can Help Homeschooled Children Develop Social Competency?
Parents play a pivotal role in the development and well-being of homeschooled children, and social competency is no exception. Firstly, parents can help by making sure the environment of their children is safe and encouraging, not limiting their liberties and makes them feel secure. Parental hints such as providing reading materials of different genres, encouraging them to relish in different cultures and join activities, and also allowing them to socialize within developmental limits, can lead to a correctly exposed and structured learning environment.
Moreover, parental guidance is essential in selecting the right peers and digital platforms that can engage their children in an environment that encourages accurate digital etiquette, as well as growth potential.
What are the Adverse Effects of Limiting the Social Interactions of Homeschooled Children?
Limiting, or totally avoiding, the social interaction of a homeschooled child may contain several adverse affects. For instance, such child might lack the opportunity to open up and express their opinions, treating them as an outcast or can even lead to further depression and even a sense of invisibility. Moreover, such restriction might stifle a child’s natural tendency to explore and discover, leading them to a dry learning process.
On the long run, disruptive family ties and immoderate parental involvement in the student’s relationships can have its toll, as well as limited to no initiative to excel in the student’s environment.
What are the Factors That Cause Social Isolation among Homeschooled Students?
The main factor that causes social isolation among homeschooled students is simply the lack of socialization that would come with attending a physical school. Other potential causes include parents misunderstanding homeschooling laws, extracurricular commitments that may affect socialization opportunities, limited time to participate in activities, and most prominently inability of the homeschooled children to mingle with other children from their locality.
Furthermore, the absence of an immersive learning environment like what a physical school can offer, can influence a student’s development and hinder their grasping or appreciation of different social situations.
Can Homeschooled Children Have the Same Level of Socialization as Regular School Goers?
The essence of homeschooling, as mentioned earlier, is the flexibility it allows to parents and students in devising the curriculum. Such flexibility can also directly apply in socializing with others, as most extracurricular activities are available in the homeschooling platform.
In states where homeschooling is legally allowed, public and private schools also offers educational opportunities outside of the classrooms for homeschoolers. As such, meeting new friends, going to special events, and joining after school activities can also be a part of a homeschooled child’s experience, thereby creating the same environment as a regular school goer can experience.
Conclusion
Homeschooling is a growing trend, due to the many advantages it can offer to both parents and students. However, it is essential to pay attention to the potential impact it can bring to a child’s social growth, as social isolation can be a potent problem if left unchecked. However, with parental guidance, proper selection of activities and platforms, and always allowing time to socialize with others, such as joining an immersive library, attending after school activities, and even joining an online platform, a homeschooled student can experience the same social growth potential as a regular school goer.