By choosing homeschooling we are not necessarily turning our backs on public education. Rather, we have a unique opportunity to be a voice in the education for all children by offering the testing ground for new ideas and the repository for some old ones. Either acceleration or enrichment should take center stage when a child is way ahead. We should either cater to a child''s learning strengths or work to strengthen her weaknesses. Either IQ scores should remain the cornerstone of identification or they are part of a subversive and elitist conspiracy and should be discarded entirely.
Children are quick to spot unfairness in any arena and even quicker to point it out.
A talkative child who is excitable in groups of people or with friends may in fact have a strong tendency toward an introverted temperament and need more than the usual amount of 'alone' time. For such children who may be highly creative learners, homeschooling that includes regular but short periods of play or work in small groups often results in a surprisingly rapid return to equilibrium, which for very young children may bring a reduction in or elimination of tantrums and other signs of stress. A healthy amount of 'socialization' for such children can be as little as once a week for very young children. Even children as old as nine or ten may find a comfort level in only two or three afternoons a week in which they have intense play with friends or in group settings. Some children who are more extraverted will obviously need group experiences more often.