Convince Your Parents to Let You Homeschool

Are you sick and tired of the school system? If you really think that homeschooling is the best path for you, then you have to do your research before you talk to your parents about it. When you do get their attention, it's important to use facts, logic, and persistence to make them come around to letting you homeschool instead of going to school. As you do your research, you'll be able to see whether this form of education is really right for you.

Steps

  1. Think about why you want to do home school. Home school may be an option because your grades are down, you're being bullied, social issues (making friends), or the kids and/or teachers are making you feel unsafe. Remember this for when you explain why you would want to do this with your parents.
  2. Do your research. Look into all the different homeschool options. Find out how much it costs, if you would have a facilitator in your city, and so on.
  3. Contact the local homeschooling groups you find and start palling around with the people you meet so you won't start out isolated. People transferring out of the system aren't used to having to take the initiative in finding friends, so save yourself the trouble while you can.
    • Ask them to try to persuade your parents.
  4. Visit the local library.
    • Get books by authors such as Grace Llewellyn, John Gatto and John Holt, and ask your parents to read them.
  5. This might sound bad, but tell your parents all the 'horrible' things you hate at your school. Leave out the better things. Such as "Mom, I can not stand to be in school anymore, so many kids there are into drugs, and I don't want to be in that situation." Follow that with what will be fixed when you're homeschooled. Also tell them that you can do online school, where you have actual teachers. Your grades will go up as a result of a better environment, and you'll be getting more sleep so you'll be more fun to be around.
    • Put it in writing. Write them a letter and make a copy or two. Or if you want to be fancy, make a Powerpoint and present it to them.
  6. Be more responsible with your chores before your parents know you want to be homeschooled so they'll see that you can be responsible enough to handle a workload without thinking it's just pandering. If you're having loads of trouble in school and can clean up your act enough to be a respectable student, do it, but don't overdo it or your parents might not take you that seriously.
  7. When you finally 'drop the bomb' so to speak, make sure your parents are in a good mood, have time to talk, and have no distractions around.
  8. This can be a little hard to swallow for your sibling(s). They may think it is unfair that you are doing home school if they stay at normal school. They may try to convince you that this is not a good idea. Just 'stick to your guns', so to speak.
  9. If they say 'no' the first time, don't give up!
    • Be ready for a bumpy start; virtually nobody finishes homeschooling the same way they started.
    • If nothing else works, and you're old enough to make the decision (teenager), and you still want to homeschool then consider refusing to attend school and issue your parents with an ultimatum.
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Tips

  • Good homeschooling site is Ohdela. They give you a laptop and everything!
  • If you have any friends who homeschool, get them to help you come up with a good plan to get your parents to agree.
  • Make a presentation to your parents, they'll love that.
  • Homeschooling would be more fun if you could talk your parents and your friends parents into letting you be homeschooled together.
  • If you are high school age, you won't need your parents to be your teachers. Depending on how you are homeschooled, you may need one of your parents to set aside some time each week to grade papers or something similar, but you won't need Mom to teach you trig in the living room. Many homeschooling groups organize classes for high school-aged students, where they either hire a teacher/tutor or one parent takes on the role of teacher.
  • Look for a homeschool co-op in your community, there you can meet a lot of homeschoolers.
  • Get off your butt and meet people. Once you're homeschooled you'll have a lot more free time, but you won't be locked in a building with a lot of people your age. Get out there and do something! Very few homeschoolers are isolated, and those that are come from screwed up families anyway. Join sports teams, after-school programs, musical groups, community theater, anything to get engaged. Homeschooling is what you make it, so make it good.
  • Just because you can do your work in your PJs, doesn't mean you don't have to do it at all. Get in the habit of setting 'school hours' early in the day (i.e 8-noon) where you turn your computer off, leave your cell phone in another room, and just get your work done. Another good option is a study group, it's much more motivating than working all by yourself. But, it only works if you actually study.
  • Be respectful to your parents opinion and don't push it!
  • If you can show your parents you are responsible and can do chores without being asked to and can provide them with a reasonable answer to be homeschooled do it.
  • Tell your parents, I work better independently and need to focus on my work by myself.

Warnings

  • A lot of people will be jerks and/or try to 'convert' you back to public school as soon as they find out you're homeschooled. Ignore them, because they don't know anything about what you need, and if they're insecure enough about their choices that they have to give you crap about yours, that's not your problem.
  • Don't repeat the question, give them time!
  • If your parents know you hate school, they may think you are trying to get out of school all together
  • Don't push it. If you know your parents don't have the money, or the time to homeschool you, don't try to force them into it.

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