This woman, with her private school background and transitory subbing, obviously has never worked with special education students. One of the reasons we made school mandatory was to protect children from being forced into the labor force. (I will admit that, especially as children age, there is a flip side, but that's something schools have been working very hard to combat through things like anti-bullying policies.) Almost as bad are the students homeschooled so that their parents can teach them ignorance or so there parents can use them as a babysitting service for younger children. For far too many kids, home is a comparatively dangerous place- it might be abusive, surrounded by violence, etc. For the few students who do, homeschooling is a great option, however you're assuming a lot. Worse yet, she imagines that every single student fits this basic profile: white (I specify that because of the privaledges she assumes these students have), middle class, intelligent, and motivated. There are plenty of reasons to homeschool, but this "teacher" (sorry, but subbing and working in some ritzy private school doesn't count you as a master of the profession) doesn't give any of them. "Handbook" implies "how-to"-and yes, there are how-to's in this book but its just not worth wading through the propaganda to get to it. It should be clear, concise, and mostly unemotional. Very few readers, let alone teenagers, will wade through the first 120 densely-written and obviously unedited pages which essentially comprise a rant against public schools and traditional educational systems.A handbook should have, IMHO, a clearly organized series of chapters with step-by-step helps for families who want to make an educational change. The author claims she is writing for teenagers, but in fact, one of the problems with this 400+ page book is that its form and content are not targeted clearly enough.
There are probably some good ideas and potentially some practical advice for teens and parents who are dissatisfied with their school experience and are looking for another answer-but these are buried in chapters and pages of unsubstantiated accusations, dismissive assessments of traditional schooling, and dozens of anecdotes from kids who love their new-found freedom. It cries out for an editor with a stack of red pens and/or a delete key. The Teenage Liberation Handbook is not for teenagers, nor is it a handbook.
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