8th Grade Out! Take a gap year instead of attending 8th grade?

[xcriteria]

Full article: Eighth Grade Out! by Ken Danford.

Quote:In recent years, the term "Gap Year" has become a common phrase to describe the experience of teens taking a year out of school between high school and college. The idea is widely accepted for youth wanting to pursue a non-academic interest, travel, volunteer, or simply re-charge their love for learning prior to embarking on the intense and expensive four-year college experience. In the wake of "The Gap Year" movement, and for all of the same reasons, I'd like to propose a corollary: "Eighth Grade Out!"

This proposal grows from 20 years of working with this age group, first as as a public middle school teacher and then in my current role at North Star: Self-Directed Learning for Teens.

Quote:Legally, Eighth Grade Out! would require a teen to register as a homeschooler for the year. Currently, all homeschoolers who demonstrate even a minor amount of responsibility and work for the year but wish to enter school for ninth grade are placed as they request. Therefore, we can encourage teens to develop their own programs for a year and assume very little risk that they would somehow "fail" and be ineligible for high school.

Thoughts? Want to show your parents that?