The Single Stoy of the "Homeschooler"
When you hear about someone who was homeschooled, several things might come to mind. Perhaps you think of your weird cousin that your parents never wanted to go visit, your old neighbors who lived next to you for years but you rarely saw outside, or perhaps you think of a friend who was actually pretty normal but against his will was forced to be homeschooled by his parents.
Because of what is portrayed in the media and what is spread around in jokes by everyone you know, homeschoolers get single-storied as socially inept, awkward, naïve, and just plain weird. These artifacts that I easily found online highlight this social awkwardness.
Because of what is portrayed in the media and what is spread around in jokes by everyone you know, homeschoolers get single-storied as socially inept, awkward, naïve, and just plain weird. These artifacts that I easily found online highlight this social awkwardness.
Because of the single-story in most people's minds about homeschoolers, when you hear about or meet someone who was home schooled for the first time there can be a negaitve image pre-associated with them of someone who is socially incapable of contributing normaly to a conversation, at a job, and to society. And it definitely doesn't help when the homeschoolers that really do fit this single-story shoot themselves in the foot and make videos that set themselves up for ridicule.
For example:
(and no, you don't have to finish it)
Saying that you were homeschooled is setting yourself up for one-liner jokes without end, and can negatively affect they way people view you in your social life.
Unfortunately the single-story about homeschoolers being socially awkward is often not far from the truth, this makes it even more difficult for those who are not like that to avoid being viewed as such. Some people who were homeschooled are not that socialy awkward. I was homeschooled myself, and I'd only mention that fact to people I know after knowing them for quite some time, otherwise they'd view me with the single-story of homeschoolers being naïve and strange, and I'd might as well make a video similar to the one above. And having known a couple pretty normal homeschoolers myself, I can see how this single-story is cumbersome and anoying to them as well. But the thing is, even though there are a few of us who fight to be viewed as normal human beings as homeschoolers, I can definitely see where the single-story originates. Saddly, we'll probably just have to live with this Single-story following us everywhere we go, just like many others who are viewed as a single stroy.
I have to say, that after having been at college for a while, that whenever I tell people that I was homeschooled before they are always so surprised that I "turned out so well" or something similar! I always have to explain that homeschool groups are a thing and that a lot of homeschoolers have friends in the public school system as well from being neighbors, doing sports together, etc.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing this story!
I'm ashamed to say that I'm one of these people who have this single story view about homeschoolers. I remember I met a girl when I was at a government conference and I spent the entire week with her getting to know her and I had a great time with her. At the end of the week I asked her where she went to school and she said she was homeschooled. I can't believe this came out of my mouth but I actually said, "Really? But you are so normal." This response didn't even phase her. She was used to it because everyone assumes homeschoolers are socially awkward. I have met some homeschoolers who fit this description, but not everyone is like that. There were kids in my high school who were socially awkward even though they went to a public school. It really depends more on the person than what kind of school they go to.
ReplyDeleteIt doesn't seem to matter where you go to school as long as you learn to become well-rounded by perfecting yourself in the mental, spiritual and social aspects of life. Props to those who attended homeschool and proved people wrong by being fun and "normal!"
ReplyDeletethis is true! when my class in middle school had to take our state exam, a homeschooled girl came to our class to take it with us, and she seemed totally normal, until during an intermediate we watched a cartoon on tv and she started doing the chicken dance. ever since then, ive thought home schooled people might be socially awkward. thanks for the post.
ReplyDeleteMy wife and most of her siblings were homeschooled for a good portion of their primary education. They are some of the friendliest, most outgoing and socially adept people I've ever met.
ReplyDeleteThis is a good example of the danger of a single story. society loves to catorogize and label. way to wrte a another story and show a diffrent side of a important issue.
ReplyDeleteI totally perpetuate this single story... I do apologize for that but it's hard not to at times haha, but yes there are very normal people who have been homeschooled.
ReplyDelete