Homeschooling ??Communication ??

Question

well i've always this feeling that homeschooled kids who start their life from grade 1 to grade 12 have difficulty in communication i've never expirienced it but i always have this feeling ?

what do you think ?

Answer 1

Absolutely not true.  I know several who have been homeschooled from K through 12 and none of them have trouble communicating with other people.  I don't mean just their homeschool friends either, I mean in any situation.  They do well at there jobs and everywhere else they go.

My oldest boy is one of these kids.  He graduated from 12th this year.  He has had a job for nearly two year and does very well at his job and communicating with others--customers, bosses, and other employees.  My husband and I get compliments from people all the time about him.  He also is constantly complimented by his bosses at work on how well he deals with customers and how friendly he is.

Answer 2

Feelings don't count.

Evidence counts.

There is no evidence that homeschool students - who are out and about in the world, rather than segregated in a classroom - have difficulty communicating.

Answer 3

I think you may find that homeschooled children can actually communicate better with a broad range of people and ages.

The difference between homeschooled kids and public schooled kids is that most public schooled children only socialize with peers their own age.

Homeschooled children often socialize with people who are younger and older, as well as their same age. Its not uncommon to see kids who are all different ages socializing together. Many times, small children and babies are playing around them and with them as they talk together at homeschool functions, etc.

I do agree that there may be some children who tend to be shy or do not communicate well in social settings. Perhaps they would show similar behavior if they went to public school though too.

As a homeschool parent I look for opportunities for my kids to grow and learn. If I see they need to work on group skills, etc. a homeschool co-op or group program would be helpful.

The vast majority of homeschooled students though, that I have met and talked to communicated well - with little kids and adults.

Answer 4

I think it's false.

Some kids just plain aren't social, but honestly, the homeschooled kids and grads I know are better communicators than a lot of ps kids and grads I know.  

A person's communication skills have nothing to do with whether or not they're homeschooled...they have to do with whether or not the person cares to communicate.  Some people find it important, others don't.  Whatever floats your boat :)

Answer 5

if the parents get the kids involved in activities in the community there should not be any prob.. I'm home schooled and i love it! i have bunches of friend and half are home schooled to :) its awesome!

Answer 6

Hardly! My daughter is 4 and happily talks to babies and holds conversations with old people. In my experience HS kids express themselves clearly and have far better communication skills than those who go to school where they learn some kind of sub-English dialect consisting mostly of repeated filler - like - ya know.

There's a stereotype of the quiet, introvert homeschooler and certainly they exist as do quiet, introvert school children, but being quiet isn't the same as having a problem communicating when you have something worth saying.

Answer 7

I think that our personal feelings about something don't account for much when there's no evidence to back the feelings up.

I've met lots of homeschooled kids and have been around plenty of non homeschooled kids. I have not seen that homeschooling makes the kids have greater problems in communicating.

Answer 8

As with most things in life, it depends on how well it was done.  Overall, I disagree with your impression.  We have been very involved in the homeschooling community and I have never seen anyone having such difficulty.  Quite the contrary, I have seen children written off by the traditional schooling settings, excel in a homeschool setting.  One completely non-verbal autistic child comes immediately to mind.  At home, he was speaking within 6 months and within a few years was reclassified as high functioning autistic spectrum.  He  is now in high school and taking on-line college level classes.  

    I do believe that success depends on adequate levels of parental involvement and ample opportunity for social interaction in a variety of settings and with a variety of ages groups, etc.

Answer 9

i don't think that's true for everyone. i mean, i was homeschooled from grade one to four. and when i moved to public school, it was like everyone wanted to be my friend. i think it really depends on the parents. if they are really protective of their child, and don't let them experience communication, then you are probably right. but you can't really classify everyone like that...you know? =]sarah

Answer 10

I don't think that's true at all. In my experience, and relationships with dozens of lifelong unschoolers, I've seen that they communicate just as well as children who spend that entire time in public schools.

My own children have been homeschooled for the past four years, the oldest two were in public school for five years, the next two for two years, and the youngest have never been in school. Their communication is the same across the board, and they all communicate well with family, friends and strangers.

It's a terrible thing, to make assumptions, but I hope that you'll get some answers from people who have homeschooled and that will change your mind.