[sjrmb]

Ok regarding a poll of HN re:homeschooling here's a positive vote. I was homeschooled during my elementary years and I had a truly great experience. The issue with homeschooling is that it has high variance in outcomes. For some families homeschooling can really be a negative, kids won't be challenged or the parents might have an extremely narrow worldview they intend to foster in their children. There can absolutely be cases where kids become isolated to their detriment. However the benefits can be wonderful. Homeschooling gave me a chance to move at a much faster pace than traditional public schools could have offered. I was able to excel in very different areas (mathematics and art) I believe in a large part because I had total freedom to persue every field to the full extent of my abilities. Also the question of "socialization" is one that I find is somewhat out of date with the way many families homeschool. I always took part in homeschool co-ops once a week and I had many friends who homeschooled. We went on tons of field trips to museums , parks and cultural events. Many places actually cater to homeschool groups visiting during the weekdays. For example I remember getting a behind the scenes personal tour at the local aquarium a and the ski hill nearby had weekday ski days for homeschool families. Also I find that some of the negative experiences some people had at a traditional school I didn't have to deal with at all. I know many people who were bullied for being nerdy introverted kids who actually enjoyed learning (I can't help but think that might have been me and I could have had far less confidence in myself as a result). Kids can be cruel and not all "socialization" is positive. As a final note I hear that "all the homeschoolers I know are hella awkward" objection all the time. It's classic selection bias. The homeschoolers who pass as socially "normal" don't get counted.