Today my oldest shared something on my Facebook about an article he read on Foxnews.com. It was about the crazy court decision in the New Hampshire case that ordered a mom to send her daughter to public school basically because the ex-husband believes that “home-schooling deprives her of socialization skills”(from the article here). Because the guardian ad litem basically agreed, she was ordered to attend public school. Naturally they are appealing the ruling.

It concerns me that this even happened. With all the evidence that proves that homeschoolers are just as socialize, if not better than, as kids who go to public school, it amazes me that the judge did not do her homework to be better informed.  I can’t understand why anyone in their right mind would want to force a child into a situation just because they “think” their child will learn “socialization skills”. What? Is this child a hermit? Is her mom keeping her locked away from the public with no contact with the outside world? Will going to public school guarantee learning social skills? What if this child is a shy personality to begin with? Will she all of a sudden become popular and be part of the accepted crowd just because she is in public school? Does this father understand that the socialization of his daughter goes beyond the walls of a classroom? What is taking her from what she knows going to accomplish? What if the transition from how she has already learned to learn to a programmed method of education is difficult for her? How is that going to benefit her academically? A child has only 12 years of required education and a lifetime of learning. Aren’t those 12 years important not to waste on such frivolity? How will the courts feel if she finds socialization and peer acceptance in a gang or by taking harmful risks just to fit in? And then what will they think if she appears before them on some criminal charges? Will prison socialization be in her best interest then? I am not saying that public schools only turn out troubled kids involved in gangs and mischief, because that is obviously not the case. But neither does homeschooling a child produce anti-social, publically dysfunctional adults who have no idea how to communicate and associate with others. 

I think that the judge needs to make a better informed decision in this case. Is the mother neglecting the child? Is she not learning? Is the mother not doing everything in her power to help her daughter achieve her potential and nurturing her hunger for knowledge? Is she keeping her locked away and secluded from the outside world? Is Dad just angry because his daughter is being raised with a Christian education and being taught Biblical principles? Or does he have genuine, legitimate concerns about his daughter’s welfare? What evidence does he have that she doesn’t “socialize”? Does she have no friends or no opportunity to mingle with other children whether it is at church or on the playground? And just because she may have no so called friends, don’t we all know someone who just seemed to have no friends for whatever reason and they turned out just fine? Some people are just loners.

I surely hope that whoever hears the appeal in this case makes a decision based on all the facts and takes into consideration the circumstances of the complaint. “Socialization skills” just seems like a really lame excuse to interfere in a guardian’s right to decide what is best for their child. It seems this case is taking one step closer to having government raising our children.