I read a few of the comments before I posted here, but I am happy to see that my own opinion is not going to be reviled by folks actually undertaking to teach their kids to learn. When I was raising my boys I wondered if they needed more 'socialization'. Then I would recall my own forced indoctrination in public school, and rejoice that they were not being subjected to what schools call socialization.

Bullying is not good for kids, and it's what governments do. Schools often encourage bullying, particularly in competitive sports. A great deal of what is called socialization by schools is actually being forced into a pecking order. As a child I refused to be subservient to jocks, or to scorn those they scorned. This was punished directly by those students, and followed up with punishment by the school employees, who beat me.

Abraham Lincoln grew up in a cabin in the woods. He may have chosen poorly when it came to brides, but no one thinks he was incapable of properly relating to his peers. My kids grew up in the woods, and became very popular with their peers, as well as with folks they worked for.

Maybe being put in prison with a cellmate could be called socialization. If it is, I don't want to see anyone's kids socialized. Public schools are just bigger cells, and offer more cellies. Homeschooler's kids are able to choose who they socialize with, and that's how it should be.

Thanks!