Q-4: DOESN'T HOMESCHOOLING ISOLATE CHILDREN? AND WHAT ABOUT SOCIALIZATION?
A-4: In Japan at present, the reality is that conditions exist under which children may be isolated and face social pressure -- by a society that largely does not recognize homeschooling and accepts school as the only way. Therefore, homeschooling groups have been created at the local levels, and by developing these networks they can exchange information with homeschoolers from other areas, thus helping to avoid isolation.
Through the activities of such groups and networks, a variety of acquaintances and friends may be made; this is sufficient, socially speaking, for bringing up children. Children who homeschool are not forced, as they are in school, to compete against others of their age group; this, in turn, reduces social exclusion and aggressiveness on their part.