JWDaughter, the reason I said for him to not worry about the the child academically was because the child has a TEACHER and there is a plan.
Agreed. But remember that SotT expressed that the concern that he didn't believe only 2 days per week would be enough academically. He also said that he thought that his "associates degree with childhood development coursework" would qualify him to help his stepson with his homework. He later added that he "has contempt for the [school] system."
My point is that his AA degree does not qualify him to do that.
As you appropriately commented, "It is the keeping up with it that will be the challenge." This is in complete agreement with my previous comment to the OP:
Think of yourself as his mentor and coach, part of a team with the teachers to assist his learning.
What
you describe sounds almost like an independent study program. The
students that do well academically in these programs are generally
disciplined, organized and self-motivated. If your stepson has these
traits, even in a moderate amount, he can be very successful in this
type of educational setting. If he has severe deficits in this area then
he will almost certainly not be successful in an unstructured learning
environment.
I'm not sure why you wrote: "Do you have an issue with homeschooling in general? These programs are not the stereotypical kind of homeschooling plan."
Perhaps you did not read my first post on this thread where I said, "Alternative education programs are filling an increasing need in our society."
I'm a huge proponent of alternative education. It is in fact what I do. Without giving away too many details, I teach high school as an alternative education setting in the United States. I am fully licensed and credentialed in the state in which I work, with multiple credentials and certifications appropriate to the subjects I teach and the student population with which I work. I meet weekly with my students on an individualized basis teaching them: English, math, history and science. In addition I conduct regular group sessions which focus on collaborative, Inquiry-Based Learning.
It's what I do. I see students that this works well for and those that it doesn't. From what SotT is describing about his conception of the charter school he is considering and his abilities to help his stepson, it seemed prudent to give him a dose of reality.
Oubliette