Socialization

The one idea that has permeated the common mind(for a definition of the common mind, read this post)about homeschooling is that children who are homeschooled are not properly "socialized." I suppose there is merit in that idea if you are defining socialization as "having common experiences with your own generation." I prefer to think of socialization as the training of a future adult. A properly socialized child will grow up to be a successful adult. I've begun to doubt the efficacy of mass schooling if this is the desired outcome. Human beings learn by imitating other human beings. We learn to walk by imitating those who walk. We learn to talk by imitating those who talk. We learn to live an adult life by imitating those who are adults. When you put children in mass groups of fifteen or so and then ask a single adult to train them all, you are depriving the children of sufficient exposure to the adult model, and overexposing them to imperfect peer models.
This may explain the boomers all in itself. Previously, American children were growing up in a more agrarian country where parents and children worked together to earn the family livelihood and so spent extended periods of time together. Mass schooling in this context has a limited impact, because the adult models are heavily available to the children outside of the school. With the transition to an industrial economy made complete by the World Wars and their demands for mass production, we now had limited opportunities for children and parents to do meaningful work together. Parents now work separately from their children. Mass schooling now becomes an exacerbation of this limited exposure to quality adults. The mobility of our society also limits the opportunity for children to interact with good adult models because they are now separated from extended family more often than not.
Looking at socialization from this perspective, homeschooling is the more successful option. Children and parents are once again doing meaningful work together. The children have many opportunities to interact with a successful adult model. I'm not saying this is gospel. I haven't had done any research yet, but it is plausible. It certainly gives those who question my life choice something to consider, and it makes it plain that I've considered their concerns.