Virtue Magazine

What does it mean?

First, let’s see what it actually means to be sheltered by looking at its root word: shelter.

The state of being covered or protected. A refuge; a haven. To take cover; find refuge.

Source: www.answers.com

So when homeschoolers are called “sheltered,” they are actually being told their parents have taken good care of them by giving them a safe refuge, a protected haven to grow up in. We are not talking about a dungeon where you never see the light of day, but a place where you can be protected from the evils of a fallen world before you are ready to be around them.

Is it a good thing?

Some would argue that sheltering a child will prevent them from being able to relate to other people. Having attended a technical school that is full of public school teens, I can tell you from personal experience, most public schoolers have a harder time relating to other people than homeschoolers! Because they have grown up in an environment full of cliques and learning to stay in groups of people that are only like themselves, they have a hard time relating to people that are different from them. Whether it be someone who, unlike them, wears a color other than black, or a teacher or part of the faculty; you will rarely see them “mixing” with anyone different from themselves.

A prime example would be my class. For as small as we are, with about 15 people, we are a very diverse class. Ranging from one of the biggest high schools in our State, to the street schools around town, none of us have a lot in common. However, because it is such a small class, you would think we all know each other fairly well, right? Wrong! Having been in the same class for over 7 months now, there are still people who haven’t talked to each other! They seem so used to being in cliques they don’t even talk to people who are different than them. They only know seem to know how to relate to those who are the same as themselves.

What are some other issues that sheltered teens handle differently? How about peer-pressure? You might think that because we have been sheltered, we would have a problem with peer-pressure, since “we’re not used to confrontation.” But once again, because we have had a chance to become grounded in what we believe, it is much easier to “say no” to things that we know are wrong. From “small” things such as smoking and cursing, to life altering decisions such as what you believe about God. Without a foundation in place, there is nothing to hold onto when someone tries to convince you that “there is no God,” or “there are no absolutes.”

Do you really miss anything?

Of course you do! I missed hearing evolution being taught as a scientific fact; I missed the chance to be in a clique; I missed people trying to pressure me into drinking and smoking; I missed the chance to ignore people, just because they look, act or talk different than me. Sure, I missed a few things for being a “sheltered homeschooler,” but I don’t miss it. Not one bit.