How does Independent study work?

How does independent study work, and how do I switch to it?

• I am a sophomore in high school, and am seriously considering switching to independent study. I am pretty well organized and very self motivated. I have lots of friends, but I'm not what you would consider a "social butterfly". Do you think that independent study is right for me, and if so, could you point me in the right direction as to how to get started.

• Answer:

  My daughter did most of her high school on independent study. In her case, she was sick with endometriosis ans could not attend clases regularly. We just talked to the counselor at her high school and asked them and they referred us. because she was too sick to go to regular high school and got little guidance from the schools and had to work at her own pace, she graduated a year early and now at 21 is in grad school already. Also in California they have a secret exam they call the CHSPE. If a student writes that exam and passed, they are a high school graduate almost instantly. See if your state has something similar. My daughter wrote that as well, even through we learned about it too late. So in effect she graduated from both the independent high school in Newport Beach, she also got a separate diploma from the state of California. However, the independent study meant she was either at home alone all day, doing work and managing a web zine for young women (www.purplepjs.com) or she was hanging out with adults. My job took me away on business trips all over several times a year so while her peers were in school, she was traveling all over the country. However, she never had a "normal" high school social life and she grew up a lot faster than most teens. She made up for it in her freshman year in college.