A lot of parents who do not agree with homeschooling system because they are afraid their kids cannot learn social skills. This is due to the common perception about the way people learn social skills. It is said that the best way to learn the way to socialize the kids is by taking them to large gatherings of same-age peers. If the kids do not have regular interaction with other kids, they miss the important learning experiences. That is why those parents insist to send their kids to public school although the kids need special handling.
Basically, you should see the definition of social skill first before moving further. It can be defined as the ability to communicate, be aware and accepted in an environment. In public school, they will interact with others and get many socials benefits. However, social skills development can be also grown in other ways besides going to public school. Social skills are also about the abilities to improve habits and tools which let people function in the society and build meaningful relationships with others. Based on that definition, many education experts say that there is no relationship between school setting and social skills.
They say this relates to the character development of the individual. In homeschooling system, the character building can also be improved every day. The reason is family also has important role in developing social skills. Your kids will always interact with others from various ages. They can see what happen in the family and the things surround them. Homeschoolers can live normally and have the responsibility to make sure everything is well done. For example, they have the tasks to do certain household activities and make sure the education run well. In the weekend, they also meet with other homeschoolers in certain occasion. This is also the way to socialize and learn social responsibility.
Most homeschoolers also socialize in the church, scouting organizations, or sports teams. So, actually there is no clear reason which says that homeschoolers will lack of social skills. Those kids still can learn all of them in more various methods and they can be hugely successful and rewarding.
