Homeschooling and socialization

Homeschooled children getting enough socialization is an argument that won't seem to die, and I'm not about to rehash it. However, I did have a random thought the other day.

I realized that the allegations of poor-socialization skills continue because most homeschoolers are different. On the whole, homeschoolers are generally less likely to have done at least one of the following:
1. Watched a television show regularly
2. Kept up on the latest blockbuster movies
3. Listened to all of the top-40 hits from the the last decade
and have probably spent more time in front of a book than a television set.

This does not make them less likely to be able to articulate their ideas to others, or less of a people-person. It does mean that they are less likely to be able to take part in a workplace conversation about pop culture.

I've spent plenty of time in the last few years consuming my share of pop culture, and what have I gained? The ability to state an opinion about a recent movie with a decent chance of someone else having seen it as well, or the ability to quote a popular internet meme and share a laugh with some of my nerdier friends.

If I were suddenly transplanted to another culture, all those hours watching Family Guy would have been in vain. I could either fall back on my homeschooling background and spend some time communicating with people I didn't share a background with, or wonder why everyone else was less socialized than myself.

If someone can't stand to communicate with you simply because you don't share the same knowledge of pop culture, that is a failure in their education - not yours.

Those poor poor dormies

It's 3:30AM right now, and I'm still awake.

If I was living in the dorms, I would have probably been in bed by 12:00-1:00. I could have gotten 8 hours of sleep easily.

The only reason I'm still awake now is because I went downstairs to talk to one of my fraternity brothers about a social event going on tomorrow evening involving ice cream and females (simultaneously!). I didn't get upstairs until 2 and a half hours later because I got caught up in talking with my brothers about random crap while watching the show Homewreckers, featuring the crazy pranks of some guy from Jackass.

I finally managed to tear myself from the hilarity, only to get caught up in a discussion about girls with two other guys at the bottom of the stairwell. Eventually, the conversation degenerated into a discussion of what crazy movies we were going to watch this weekend. (The Japanese zombie movie "Wild Zero" is the headliner.)

Holy crap - if I lived in the dorms, I doubt I'd have more than one or two friends. My roommate would probably be the only person I knew well. And, there would be an automatic 50% chance that the person assigned to be my roommate would grate on my nerves horribly, making my life that much suckier.

I can't help but pity those dormies. I'd guess that only 10% of the campus is actively social - and I'd say half of those people are members of the greek system (7% of those on campus are in a greek house). Crazy.