The Well-Adjusted Child: The Social Benefits of Homeschooling Book

Preface -- Hardest thing about discussing homeschooling with others is the "socialization" question, which has as its subtext the assumption that you are handicapping your children by keeping them out of school.

- First the book discusses what homeschooling generally is, and how it's generally not kids sitting at desks learning from their mother standing at a chalkboard, but more varied, social and out-of-the-house.

- "It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society." -- Krishnamurti (this reminds me of something Sartre wrote "The sane man is the man who acts insane in an insane society.")

- After "better education" the primary reason given for homeschooling is "family unity"

- Homeschooled kids spend less time with kids in the same age group and more time with people of different ages.

- Psychologists say that large quantities of random exposure to peers that is not balanced with adequate contact, guidance and relationship with adults is unhealthy and a likely cause of high rates of drug use, suicide, crime, etc.

- "An hour with friends is worth ten with strangers." - Chinese fortune cookie

- John Dewey, probably the most influential educational thinker of the 20th century, said that school has become artificially removed and separated from society to the extent that it is "the one place in the world where it is most difficult to get experience."

- p. 78 "I just feel like our life is so much more nourishing in each and every way. The way our family is together and the way we celebrate the seasons together, and it all just weaves together. We have this life now, where before we had more of an existence I would say, and a lot of shuttling here and there, maintenance type activities. Now it's time to get dressed, now it's time to do this...and now it's just like we have this -- we just have this life-- I don't know how to describe it. (Anne, homeschooling mother of two)