Why Nerds Are Unpopular

Far be it from me to suggest that I am some sort of genius or exceptionally bright person, but the article linked in the title to this post really resonated with me. (It is well worth reading.) I was not a popular child, particularly in my elementary and middle-school years. It was a common occurance to have classmates come up to me and say, "You know, last year I didn't like you and thought you were weird, but now I think you are okay. "

In high school I hung out with a small group of the "goody goody" crowd and, for the most part, stayed out of trouble. I just wasn't interested in drinking myself into a stupor, experimenting with drugs, or being a vandal. The best times I had in highschool came from spending every spare moment with Hans Hedley, my art teacher, who was a true Renaissance man with knowledge on nearly every subject under the sun. Before classes, lunch hours, after school, you could find me hanging out with Hans. I credit him with being the one who taught me how to think and be curious about how things work and I owe him a debt that can never be repaid. I think I learned more in three years of classes with him than I did in all my other classes combined.

I think it is easy for parents to forget the kind of damage that herds of children can inflict on each other. One of the knee-jerk reactions one often hears from those who don't homeschool is, "What about socialization?" as though the only proper way to socialize children is in age-segragated peer groups. The socialization that takes place in the school setting is some of the most unnatural and evil and cruel that there is, outside the prison system. And yet, this is supposedly the "real world" that people need to be socialized to.

Poppycock! Proper real world socialization means learning to interact gracefully and well with people of all generations outside of one's peer group. Real world socialization is what my kids experience in their day to day life. The result has been children who have no difficulty in talking to or playing with siblings or other children smaller than themselves, and likewise, who have no difficulty in interacting with adults. Depravity still raises its ugly head, but at least it isn't reinforced as a cultural norm.