<p>Does he love PE and chorus? Does he care, or does he get A’s because of lax grading?</p>
<p>Some kids, especially boys, just do not get the point of homework when they are in their teens. I work with a lot of these families. Every family has different values, but I’m in favor of requiring kids to do SOMETHING productive after high school, and I don’t care that much whether it is college or not. Working for minimum wage can change somebody’s mind about the value of school in a hurry. Or sometimes it doesn’t, but as long as the kid is working and being useful, I think that’s what matters in the medium term (let’s say the next 3 years or so).</p>
<p>Maybe he’d get more excited about an apprenticeship or trade school. Maybe he’d make a good carpenter or HVAC tech. College will still be there in a couple of years if he wants to put his heart into it. There are a lot of different ways for a smart kid to find his way to a productive life.</p>