Scombridae

Now it's not a secret to anyone who knows me that I, in MOST cases, cannot understand why anyone would want to homeschool their children. Yes, these kids are, at least judging by the ones who I have met, always VERY smart and/or very musically gifted (a huge plus), but let's face it: most of them can hardly handle even the most modest of social situations. I believe that the social situations that children are exposed to in public, or private, schools-even the really bad ones-help them develop skills that in turn give them the skills to become (relatively)healthy adults.

It seems to me that many homeschoolers tend to be exceptionally talented in music, especially classical music. Coming from a musical background, particularly my classical recording background, I've been exposed to many of these virtuosic homeschoolers (it seems only logical that a parent of one of these kids would want them to stay inside and practice an instrument 6-8 hours a day...after all, outside they may have a run-in with a mass murderer....or the sun...or someone of a different religion...). I can spot one of these kids a mile away; pale skin, do-it-yourself haircut, robed in garments 2 grade levels either too small or too large from ca 1983 rural Wyoming...most noticeably though, I have yet to see one that is able to interact socially with anyone on a level that greater than that of a 5th grader.

I met one girl about 2 years ago who was an AMAZING pianist. She won a fairly prestigious competition and was interviewed afterwards. She was very shy while answering the questions; she giggled a lot and barely made eye contact with the interviewer.

Now enter Evan M. O'Dorney, the winner of this past week's Scripps Spelling Bee. Being that I work for a news organization, I heard an interview with this kid, awkwardly conducted by CNN's Kerin Chetry. As you can see, Evan has NO idea how to interact with her, no idea how to carry a conversation. It's almost like watching an episode of "The Office." Bless you for trying Kiran!

I'm not saying homeschooling is always bad, nor that it is impossible for a homeschooler to turn out normal...I guess I look at it kinda like growing a giant tomato: Sure, you get a very unique, prize winning tomato, and maybe that tomato will someday feed many starving people, but mostly, you just wind up with a really odd tomato.

-N