Yup, the Saga of the Socialization Myth.
One thing I wanted to share... when Mike was about 10 or so, he went to church summer camp. A friend (and in our home group at the time) sent her grandson. He didn't go to our church at all, and I'm not sure how old he was... but he was handicapped (had to use crutches to walk), Where the camp was (Riverbend Baptist Encampment in Glen Rose) made the rock/stone/gravel paths to everything can be hard work with normal balance and walking abilities. But with crutches, wow. Mike went (I did not go to help, so he was on his own.) When they got back, one of the leaders came to me and told me how Mike did.
The boy with the crutches was always the last person to make it to the cafeteria or to the next building or outside area for an activity. Mike always held back and walked with him, engaged him in conversation, was never put off by his disability, etc. He was the ONLY child to do that... Almost makes me cry, 'cause that's the way it's supposed to be. Would have been nice to have a small crowd walking with crutches boy where ever they were going.
There is so much intolerance and prejudice in kids who go to public school. And they are soooo vicious! Attacking the weaker or different in the group. (
Hmm, there's a correlation with the animal kingdom there, but I can't remember the species.) Now I know that's a generalization--I would have been the kid holding back so a new person to camp who didn't know anyone didn't have to be alone. But the cliques and the idea that the younger grades are inferior and the older grades are "cool" and to be emulated, and how that expands to away from school. Suddenly younger siblings are pests and there is no love lost between the two. The disrespect they give to adults who aren't perceived as "the expert" (e.g. their teacher, sometimes). Their parents know "nothing," and so on....
Then you see a hs'd kid and more than likely (a generalization also) he/she don't see differences, or if he does, he respects and likes them despite it (because we're all different). He can play with both younger children and older children, can speak intelligently to an adult (with respect).
Another memory... Mike & I were at the zoo. He was like 6 or 7, I think, definitely in the begining age for homeschooling. Somehow a group of teenagers or young adults, joined us at our table in the café. Mike was then at the "germs and billions and billions" stage. He was ponitificating on how you have to be careful eating on the table because unseen there were billions and billions of germs on the table. The group were impressed and couldn't get over how young and knowledgable. One of them said (I think, it's been 14 years! LOL), "I didn't learn that in school until I was in the __ grade!" (Seems like they said 7th grade or one of the older grades, but I could be wrong.) He had no problem talking to these "big kids", no shyness, nothing. LOL These teenagers might have been seniors or something like that.
Now, that's the way people (children and adults) should act and so often don't even think about it.
, it really saddens me to see how ps brings such INtolerance of different personalities/interests and how so many of the dch going there end up suppressing their God-given talents and nature in the name of Cool. 
Would they have been the kids waiting for ds after school so they could bury his face in the mud? Or tormented him so badly on the playground that he wished he were dead?
Now that's true socialization.
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