Is “socialization” a real thing? Why are folks so concerned homeschoolers aren’t getting enough of it? These are the questions that beg answering. I’ve been homeschooling for a ton of years, and I’ve often been confused about exactly what this term’s definition.
It can’t mean polite, considerate behavior because that is something public schools definitely do not promote (and most homeschoolers are quite good at).
Socialization is not about getting along in the Biblical sense, such as being in harmony and agreement for the goal of brotherly love in Christ.
Here is a definition from sociology.org:
Socialization is the process by which the social order is involuntarily and (if necessary) coercively transferred onto a person, beginning as a newborn baby. If you think about it, that’s big and it takes the definition of socialization way beyond the notion of your own sense of self.
Yep, you got that right. The scary truth is we have all been cooperating with a form of conditioning totally different from God’s intention for mankind. Of course, most of us are not aware of it, so we can count on His grace for our covering :).
After a number of years to consider the subject, I have come to think that “social-ization” is an attempt to move our entire society away from Biblical mores and over into humanistic values more in line with globalist-socialism as a way to solve mankind’s ills.
For me it started with some of the first episodes of Sesame Street. The puppets were adorable, but the message was foreign and creepy. We wanted to be charmed by the cuteness, we came away disturbed and frustrated by emptiness.
When I was a child in school in the 70’s it was clear we were all specimens in a huge experiment. We were shown Disney films which presented situations with moral dilemmas. The teacher was not allowed to present any moral bias, but sat us in a circle and encouraged us (children at the ages of 11 and 12) to come up with our own values by a democratic (read peer-dependent) method. We were learning to “cooperate” and come up with a consensus void of any absolute truth. (Since I was a believer at the time and my opinion was based on the Word of God, I was ostracized and made to feel odd for my opinion, and the teacher did not help at all).
That was “socialization.” It is so common these days we don’t even recognize it as the oddity it was when society looked to the Bible, Church and parents to decided what was good and right and just.
“Social Studies” is socialization’s kin: study the entire world through the lens of a society devoid of any higher purpose other than survival on a blue planet spinning in space that is full of scarcity; one that can either evolve into a utopia or spiral down to distinction by our own hands, no Creator involvement necessary (or possible).
I don’t believe in “socialization” because I don’t believe in emptiness and loneliness and meaninglessness. I don’t want my children to live with their convictions tucked neatly in their back pockets or left beneath their underwear in their dresser drawers.
I want them to get along with others based on the love of Christ and the truth of God, not based on whether their behavior is approved by the collective.
For more of my thoughts on this subject you may enjoy watching the video I have prepared for my Mom Delights channel on YouTube:
