Socializing those who learn at home

Parents all over the city of Virginia Beach are choosing to home school their children instead of sending them to public schools, “because the family’s religious beliefs are not followed in the public schools, they fear for their children’s safety, or their children are physically or mentally different” (Downs 18). Most parents, including my own, feel keeping “Homeschooling has become increasingly common in the last 15 years” and with the growth of this practice came “concerns that home schooled kids would be socially stunted, but that has not been the case.” Contrary to the belief that all of the home schooled do not obtain adequate social skills, because they do not attend public schools, children who learn at home in Virginia Beach have a surplus of opportunities for socialization outside the public school system. Socialization for home schooled children can be found many places, including Young Men’s Christian Associations, YMCA’s, and churches, but local recreation centers and neighborhoods are the best option for obtaining socialization equal to that found in the public schools.

The home schooled students who are kept out of public schools for reasons such as the public schools being unsafe, have other places to go and people to socialize with, including the closest people to them, their neighbors. Making friends in his neighborhood is what helped a friend of mine, Jared Mohney, from becoming an unsocial home schooled student. He found a friend in almost every house on his street in Virginia Beach, all of whom attended Indian River High School, a public school. With these neighbors he was soon influenced the same way he would have been if he had gone to public school, but still had the one on one attention for school work at home as he and his parents preferred. Of course, once he made friends with his neighbors these friendships lead to games being played and even trips taken as they got older, which made up for the socialization Jared may have missed out on by not attending public schools.

For children who do not find anyone in their neighborhood, there are local recreation centers scattered around the Virginia Beach area. These facilities offer almost ever sports team imaginable, including swimming, basketball, softball, baseball, bowling, tennis, and much more. There are also summer camps sponsored by these local recreation centers for kids of all ages and any educational background. There are also after school programs available, meant for the public schooled children, but open to anyone in the community. Through these programs, even though the home schooled are not allowed to participate in public school sponsored extra curricular activities they can still socialize with public school children at these recreation centers. In one of these after school programs is where my neighbor, There is a surplus of such community activities in the Virginia Beach area, so home schooled children will not ever be denied the opportunity to become social in their community.

For the special cases of home schooled children who are physically or mentally challenged from average students there are more community programs in addition to the ones I have already mentioned for them to develop their socialization. First of all, there is Make the Point, “a collaborative effort between Special Olympics Virginia, a life enrichment program through sport for persons with mental disabilities, and the Virginia High School League.” (VA Special Olympics) This program allows high school kids, in all forms of education, including home schooling, to come meet others with the same problems they have and to participate in a group event. For the home schooled children with physical differences, such as disfigured limbs, or other birth defects, there are programs for them as well, including wheel chair races and related events at local recreation centers, such as YMCA’s. With these programs available to them, all these Virginia Beach home schooled children and their unique needs are satisfied without the public school system.

In order for the children, such as my friends who I have mentioned, to obtain a socialization as in the public schools these community organizations need to have the same diverse groups of children to influence them. In youth groups there are dominantly republican kids who are very moral in their ways, especially when around other members of the youth group. Home schooled kids involved in such a youth group would not get the same social skills out of it as they would going to public school, because of the similar up bringing of all the children there. At local recreation centers home schooled children would acquire the same socialization as a public schooled child would by getting involved there, because a lot of public school children attend there. At the YMCA, on the other hand, there would be more high class or well off people, because it costs a lot more money to go there than local recreation centers. Even with this class structure present though, home schooled children who attend YMCA’s still obtain very similar social skills to those that attend public schools. In conclusion, the best way for a home schooled child to gather the equal social skills as a public schooled child and still learn at home would be to get involved in a local recreation center, whether it is a sports team there or just going there and meeting people.

There are so many people in Virginia Beach alone, who think these children sit at home all day not knowing anyone and leaning in complete isolation and that is simple not true. With all these organizations and community activities to participate in, home schooled children acquire just as many social skills as children who attend public schools.