I've thought for a while that the communal/coop/village setting is the most natural and healthy way of living for us. As a parent, my last qualm about communal living is about the education of the children. I want my kids to have other children around to learn to socialize with. I also want them to be well educated. So many communes I have researched only have a few children. I don't know if I want my kids to be homeschooled with only a couple others. I feel that it would deprive them of so many vital social skills. Yet I'm also uncertain about bussing them to the local public schools. I desperately want to hear of others' experiences with having children, or being children, on a commune. Please,if you read this, share with me your experiences.
greetings seeker, I totally understand your concern about the socialization your children will receive if you homeschool, but on the flip side, are the children they would be spending 7 hours a day with in public school the type of children that yours would learn 'good' qualities from? When my boys were in public school they learned nothing but greed, selfishness and a general disrespect towards others. It takes much longer to unteach these qualities than it does to learn them, if your lucky enough to unteach them at all. I will be homeschooling my 3 boys (12, 12 and 10) starting this Sept. for the first time and am relieved they will be away from the general mindset of todays kids. We live on a small commune, my children are the only kids here but trust me, the things they learn here from others far outweigh anything they can learn from another child. We have many people come through for visits whom all seem to have a valuable lesson to teach not only the 'grownups' but children as well. Please don't rule out communal living based on the ability to homeschool, as long as its the right commune, things will balance. Blessings, Bee
I agree with everything BeeRain said,and wanted to add that there are other socialization opportunities outside of public school like 4H or scouting or karate classes,even church related stuff for those who are religious. School isn't the only social thing for kids at all.
Yes - although it's a fairly sweeping statement - I agree that public schools generally seem to bring out the worst in a child, particulary those in the inner city, and particulary secondary education. I would also worry about how the other school children perceived "the weirdo kid that lives in the mud hut" or whatever (children can be so cruel!). I also agree and think the larger the commune, the more successfull home schooling will be with social interactions, etc.
