Homeschool parents: Kids not sheltered

Sunday, October 22, 206
By MICHELLE PITTMAN
The Express-Times
One of the most common concerns critics express about home-schooled students is they will have a hard time later in life getting along with others.

Not interacting with peers when they are young robs home-schooled students of basic social skills, critics claim.It is a concern, because it's tied up with what how sheltered do you want your child to be," said Saul Grossman, a professor at Temple University's Department of Education Leadership and Policy Studies. "A lot of home-schooled kids are pretty sheltered, and you have to ask if that's best for the child."

But many home-schooling parents insist it's simply not true.

"Many people assume the only way a child can learn to play with others is to be in a classroom of 20 other kids the same calendar age, sitting at desks six hours a day," said Jill Drake, one of the founders of The Kids Homeschool Network. "How does spending your entire day with age-grouped peers prepare you to socialize in the diverse real world? Other than 13 years in public school, when do you spend the majority of your day with people within two years of your age?

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