Social aspects of life aren't ignored

For some, homeschooling still brings images of children studying in solitude, while their counterparts in public schools socialize with friends, play in the band or go out for sports.

The term homeschoolers can be misleading because most homeschool families take their children's education far beyond the walls of their home, said Terry Colbert of Fort Collins, who homeschooled his daughter, Sarah, from first through 12th grade.

"The biggest myth about homeschooling is that the kids don't receive any socialization," Colbert said.

"There's a myth that they need a school environment. But socializing in a school environment prepares children for socializing in a school environment. Not with community at large."

A University of Florida study found no difference between homeschool and public school children on tests measuring self-esteem. Observation of the two groups at play indicated homeschooled children had significantly fewer behavior problems than their public school counterparts when playing together. Most of the differences were attributed to types of schooling.

According to the study, contact with adults is more important in developing social skills in children than contact with other children.

Brenda Cisneros, who homeschools daughters Amalia, 7, and Isabel, 11, in Fort Collins, agreed.

"My concern (about socialization) tends to go the other way," Cisneros said. "When you get a large group of children together, they socialize each other. And I would rather they are socialized by adults rather than the pack mentality."

Homeschool children do get a fair amount of interaction with their peers, said David MacPhee, a professor of human development and family studies at Colorado State University.

"It doesn't seem like many are isolated," MacPhee said. "But there isn't a whole lot of research" on homeschooling.

Because research usually lags behind trends by about 20 years, not much has been done to look at homeschool socialization, he added. But peer socialization is critical to a child's development, he said.

Skills such as communicating with someone you don't agree with, working as a team, even courting, are learned as a child through peer socialization, MacPhee said. While not necessarily more important than parental influence, peer interaction is necessary for survival, he said.

"Few people grow up to be hermits," he said.

Sarah Colbert, 21, said she feels like she does better in the adult world because she was homeschooled as a child.

"I had so much time when I would be at places with my dad and I'd be the only kid around, so I was able to relate to adults better," Colbert said.

At the same time, she played with neighborhood children after school, took art classes and participated in school drama programs.

Events such as graduation and school dances weren't a big deal to her, said Colbert, adding that she did attend some public school dances.

"It's not something I feel like I missed out on," she said.

Most of the reactions Roberta Spieker has gotten to homeschooling her daughter have been positive, but the practice isn't universally accepted.

"It's a scary thing to tell people you homeschool," Spieker said. "You never know how they'll react."

Her 14-year-old daughter, Brittney, who asked to be homeschooled, said she still hangs out with her friends from Lesher Junior High School, which she attended until this fall.

But school isn't her only social outlet. She also spends time with friends from her church and neighborhood.

People who don't have much experience with it often ask her about socialization, Brittney said.

"Not all homeschool families want to shelter their kids from the world -- maybe a few do, but for the most part, no," Spieker said.

But the stereotypes linger, some parents said.

"I have actually had someone walk up and tell me that they didn't approve of what I was doing," Cisneros said. "I hate that question - How are your kids socialized?"