Hacker News Reader

> The only reason we hesitate to take them out of school is the socialization aspect.

You really hit the nail on the head for me here. I see that kids need to work with large, consistent, groups of their peers for years to learn all of the skills needed to be socially competent (work and play). Many don’t get this and it can really show when they move into adulthood.

View on HN

It is interesting that the OP wrote "not really learning anything", then talked about the social aspect. That _is_ learning. For most people in this world, they won't be on the STEM track. In these cases, having well-developed social skills is crucial to your adult life. And, even the STEM track, those with better social skills are usually more successful, excluding the extreme minority of "head-down" STEM types who barely need to talk with anyone to be very successful.

Well-developed social skills matter for kinds on STEM track as much. It is not just that you get more successful if you don't have them, it is that you become impossible to work with.

Everyone I know who was homeschooled in grade school went to college and learned how to socialize like an adult there. That's an environment that's ideal for learning how to socialize. Not a few brief minutes a day on the bus or in between classes.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com