How do I convince my parents to homeschool me?

Question

I've told them before I don't like public school and I want to be home schooled. School starts next monday. I don't wanna go back. Public school ruins my life. When I told them before my dad said, "everyone has to go through with it." Well obviously, if you make me. I've even told them that lots of colleges look for home schooled kids. What should I do/tell them?

Answer 1

Do more research and pick 2 or 3 curriculums that you think would be good. Go to the public school and ask for papers for home schooling just in case your parents say yes. You have to fill them out for the state. While you are there ask them for any tips about homeschooling....like how to make sure you can transition back into public school if you want to later. Best bet would be to find someone you know that is homeschooling now...talk a LOT to them, invite them over to kinda help you talk to your folks....or maybe even their parents. Most parents that are not sure about homeschool just want to make sure that you do not miss anything, that you are safe and out of trouble if you are home by yourself, that you will have an active supervised social life. If you can explain to them how these things will be OK....you might have a chance. Good luck.

Answer 2

Hon, having to home school a child is NOT everyone's cup of tea! Its a h**l of a lot of work, and you have to get the state government involved...they probably don't have the time nor the inclination to go through all that when there's a perfectly fine public school.

What you SHOULD do is figure out why you hate it so much, and work on changing it. And they SHOULD be willing to help with that, it's one of your parents duties!

Answer 3

If you do all the reseach and find the programs that you want to use, including finding good prices, they might just let you do it.

Answer 4

Unfortunately you do need your parents approval.  Not only that, they have to have an active hand in your learning and schoolwork.  Other than telling them, have you done any other homework?  Sometimes you need to be able to present the facts to them, the pros and cons of homeschooling and let them know exactly what would be expected from them.  There are records that they would need to keep.  Check with your state for their education laws and requirements for homeschooling.  Also, there is more than one way to homeschool too.  They might be open to one of these methods like charter school or homeschooling through a public school.  See if there is a homeschool resource person in your area that may be able to help you out or willing to speak to your parents.  Now, I can't say any of these methods would work to make your parents more open to the idea but at least by doing your homework you show your commitment to this idea and you know you did everything you could to get their approval in this area.  Good Luck to you!

Answer 5

I would print out the info from online. Something that shows how well homeschoolers do in your state. Also You mom or dad may not feel like they can handle the job. print out things that show them that it can be as easy as a CD in the computer DVD in the TV to Books you do and they grade. There is even schools that will send you class work and they check it. Hope this helps.

Answer 6

Nothing.  You have made your choice known and were overruled.  You are the child and they are the parents.

Which of your parents is home all day to handle your lessons and is he/she qualified to do that?  And exactly how is public school ruining your life?  It sounds to me as if you have no wish to be around other people and I feel that is a problem.  That is why school systems have psychologists available for the students.  You have an amazing array of services available to you there if you will only use them.

Answer 7

I am a homeschool dad and a lawyer so I think homeschooling is great and I have had some training and experience in convincing people of things.

Sometimes it is better not to make the argument yourself.  Someone else might be better positioned to make the argument than you are.  For example, do you think your mother might be more convincing with your father than you are?  Perhaps you should try going through her.  Or perhaps there is another adult who would be more persuasive.

Second, conclusory statements do not make good arguments to logically-minded people.  Public school ruins my life is an example of such a conclusory statement.  It may be expressing your feelings, but it doesn't make sense to others without some facts to back it up.

I think that a written proposal with some research to back up your idea would be more impressive to your parents than just stating your feelings.  They might take it more seriously if they see that you have researched the issue and found some information that they were not aware of before.  They would see that you are serious about it and this is not just a spur of the moment idea based upon your feelings right now.  

You need to show them that this is not to make you feel better right now, but is important and helpful for your future.  They might be seeing this as dropping out of school instead of continuing your education in a more effective manner.  They need to see that this will help you in the long-term.

Do not just tell them that lots of colleges look for home-schooled kids- back that up with some quotes, articles, letters from admissions officers at colleges stating that.

Also, rather than just making it an either/or proposal, you could find a compromise that would meet their concerns, while also allowing you to homeschool.  For example, state that you will only do it for one year and be tested in the spring and if you don't improve on your test scores, that you will go back to school the next year.  Or, state that you have found an excellent correspondence school (have information about the school) and that you can take classes through this school as long as you keep up your grades and if they drop, that you will go back to school.

Your parents may have other concerns that I am not aware of.  I'm not sure if you are aware of their specific concerns.  Do both of your parents work?  Do they have the time to help you with this?  Are they concerned about what others might think, such as grandparents?  

Having said all this, there is a good chance that you won't be able to convince them right now.  I suggest that you make the best of the situation and find some way to resolve the problem you have in school if that is the case.   You can also come back and try a more effective approach in a couple months to try to convince them that homeschooling is right for you.

I wish you the best of luck.