Socialization isn’t a freaking joke

CC image courtesy of Flickr, Michael Scott. Editorial note: The following is reprinted with permission from Samantha Field’s blog. It was originally published on February 11, 2016. If you’ve been around homeschooling culture for any length of time, you’re probably familiar with how they tend to make fun of “socialization.” When I was growing up as a homeschooled kid, I had “20 Snappy Comebacks”

The Battle of Peer Dependency: Part 2

How the “battle” for your kids wanting friends became framed as a battle for the hearts of your children.

The Battle of Peer Dependency

How the “battle” for your kids wanting friends became framed as a battle for the hearts of your children.

Socialized but Sheltered: Emily DeFreitas’s Story

Socialized but sheltered is the phrase I’d use to describe my state when I entered college. I knew how to communicate with people. I had enough social skills to get by, but I had been so underexposed to new people and ideas that I would be shocked and confused quite a bit during my first year. Academically, my transition into

How I Learned to Pregame (and Other Transitions): Casey’s Story

Here, I could actually learn from other people with a wide variety of backgrounds. My own beliefs, both spiritual and political, developed and took concrete form.

Call for Stories: Tell Us About Your Transition from Homeschool to College!

For our next open series, we want to hear from YOU about your transition from homeschooling to college.

Picking Things Up from the Culture, Homeschool Edition

“For all of homeschooling parents’ rhetoric about how ‘peer dependent’ public schooled children are, we homeschooled children could be quite influenced by our homeschooled peers.”

Awkward!:Jeri Lofland’s Story

Jeri Lofland blogs at Heresy in the Heartland. The following was originally published by Jeri on March 25, 2015, and is reprinted with permission. Recently a friend described a situation as “awkward” and I laughed. Not because it wasn’t true, but because I spent decades developing a resistance to awkwardness. It’s not that I don’t still feel it, I just have a

I Just Want to Be Normal: Alice’s Story

“I’m a teenager. Yes, I need to be responsible and help watch the kids while she works, but I want a life.”

A Sister, Not a Parent: Sage Lynn’s Story

“My mom quickly told me that ‘if you can get along with your siblings, you can get along with anyone.'”