I'm retired, so I was able to afford the time to homeschool my stepson through high school. We registered with a charter school that provided books, tutoring, laboratory classes, Rosetta Stone for German, and teaching for subjects I couldn't teach. We had as mentor teacher who monitored our progress and conducted testing. All expenses were paid by California taxes. It worked very well for us, but the mentor teacher complained that a lot of parents did not have the time or ability to give their children a good education at home.

I have a friend who's a college professor (and sometime Mudcatter). he and his wife are homeschooling their children independently, without help from a charter school. Even though he's a professor, he gets hassled. I don't know if it's law yet, but there has been a proposal to require homeschooled California children to be taught under the supervision of a credentialed teacher.

There are three homeschool charter schools in my area, and they seem to be quite popular and successful. The elementary schools in the area are low in enrollment and struggling financially, so charter schools can have a very bad effect on the regular schools.

Still, I'm very glad I homeschooled Josh. He had problems all through grade school and hated going to school. Now he's in college, getting good grades, and really enjoying himself.

-Joe-