I’ve been out all day doing some journalism, and just got home. “I have news for you,” said my wife. “Our son got a job.”

Matthew, who is 12, landed an unpaid job as a volunteer at a place in town. He told us a couple of weeks ago he’d be interested in volunteering there. Well, said his mother, go talk to the folks who run it and see if they’ll have you. He did, was hired today, and is working there now. He did this all on his own, of his own initiative, with no help from his parents.

The other day, Julie was shopping in a store around town. When they found out that she was Matthew’s mom, the clerks told her how polite he is when he comes in the store — how he looks the adults in the eye when he talks to them, and engages them in actual conversation. Of course parents love to hear that sort of thing about their children. We told Matt how proud we were of him for his good manners and maturity.

I’m bringing this up here not to brag on my kid, but to point out an example of how the whole “they won’t be socialized” argument against homeschooling is such a canard, at least in our experience.