Does Homeschooling Shelter Children?

They say that homeschooling shelters children. That it creates a view of the world that is narrow and insular.

They say that homeschooling isolates children. That it takes away their opportunity to interact with other people and places.

They say that a homeschooled child isn’t living in the real world.

I wish they could understand how far all this is from the truth.

I wish they could see that home educated children aren’t spending their lives at home. That they’re not inside the four walls of their house, day in and day out, interacting only with their immediate family.

I wish they could see them out at the local library, the skate park, the pool, an art gallery, a street market, the beach, the park, exploring a museum...

I wish they could observe how naturally they interact with all the different people in all those different spaces - librarians, skaters, lifeguards, gallery curators, market stall owners, surfers, park rangers, museum staff...

I wish they could watch them in their karate dojo, their gymnastics hall, their dance class, their sports team, their music or drama school, surrounded by other children passionate about the same things they are.

I wish they could see the varied ages, backgrounds, cultures and worldviews of all the people they’re engaging with throughout the week, and the natural environments in which that’s happening.

I wish they could hear how strange it sounds to say all of this offers less social development and life experience than spending years in a classroom.

And I wish, once and for all, that we could shed this myth.

Homeschooled children are not isolated from the real world.

They’re out there living in it.