An argument against home schooling

--submitted by Chet

One of the most potent arguments against home schooling comes from watching home schooled children interact socially with others.

Case on Point: a true story with names changed

Characters
Tony, a sixteen year old guy, all around pretty cool and good looking
Mary, a seventeen year old girl, pretty cool and very attractive
Mark, a fourteen year old guy, homeschooled, but not bad lookingme, an adult who knows all parties reasonably well

Tony, Mary and I were having a pleasant conversation. There is a little boy/girl tension in the air because Tony and Mary used to "go out." We are all laughing and having fun. Mark sidles up to the group, and kind of becomes a participant in the conversation.

Then, out of the blue, Mark brings everything to a screeching halt with this declaration; "I've had a colonoscopy two times, once from each end."

As I try to grasp what just happened, Mary turns red and leaves immediately. Tony kind of awkwardly chuckles, and then disappears a soon as possible.

Now I know that they don't explicitly teach in school "Don't discuss your colorectal procedures."
However, I maintain that this social snafu would have been avoided by most kids who have spent time with peers in a school setting.

That's all I'm trying to say.