I have to say I disagree with this author Homeschool is a how-to-live decision not a how-to-learn decision.
I do think children should be given some say in the decision to homeschool. My third and fifth grader (at the time) wanted to be homeschooled, and were very happy when we made the switch from public school to homeschool. I really can't see it working otherwise.
Certainly parents should be the ones making the final decision on where to live, what house to purchase etc., but certainly children should be given some say and their opinions should be taken into consideration when possible when making a decision that affects them.
One of the most enjoyable things about homeschooling was how the kids interest could be taken into account when making lesson plans and choosing additional subjects. I allowed the children to choose which foreign language to learn and they choose Japanese. It gave us all a chance to learn something new and turned out to be very helpful when my husband wound up going to Japan on a business trip.
Listening to your children and showing an interest in their activities is part of good parenting. Allowing them to make age appropriate decisions and suffer the consequences of those decisions is how they learn to be mature responsible adults capable of making their own decisions.
