Getting a pre-teen to FOCUS

[cookderosa]

Phillip, I'm actually sympathetic to this line of thought, but I don't know how to practically apply it. My stepdaughter's mom and I have often talked about the benefits of homeschooling (especially since I'm not convinced about the actual educational benefits of modern schooling), but with me needing to work and her mom unconvinced that she could actually homeschool the children, we're sort of at a loss.

The point of unschooling is actually not applying anything. You simply allow your child to learn without structure. It's a method, not necessarily one that works for everyone, but you'd likely find enough unschoolers to get support. Though it's not the choice for our family, absolutely support a parent's legal right to choose the type of education they give their children.

Your state would dictate what would be required; the rest is up to you. I'm not evangelical about homeschooling, so don't misunderstand my explaining with cheerleading. In Illinois, where I live, homeschools are private schools. So, literally, I am the owner of "the school" and make all decisions. My issued transcripts ARE official, my issued diplomas ARE official, and my curriculum choices/graduation requirements are up to me. There are a few rules, but they are related to attendance and teaching the major branches of education in English. For this OCD control freak, I live in the perfect state. There are about 15 good states like Illinois. LOL, some states are awful with red tape (East Coast is rough). Still, homeschooling is legal in all 50 states. A good place to find out what would be expected of you is Home School Legal Defense Association. (HSLDA) Click on your state.