Once we decided to go the homeschooling route, I quickly set about brainstorming curriculum. I was interrupted from my optimistic reveries by Captain Jack.

“Sooooo what are the requirements for homeschooling, anyway?” he asked, ever the pragmatist.

I had no idea, but I found my answer in lightning fast time.

Apparently, there are no federal mandates regarding homeschooling, so any requirements are implemented by your state of residency. Louisiana doesn’t have many. In fact, if you register your homeschool as an “official non-public school” and enroll your child, you’re pretty much done.

While it seems like registering a private school would be an arduous undertaking, in fact, it took fewer than five minutes to complete the online form and receive approval from the Louisiana Department of Education.

Et voila! Crow’s Nest Academy was founded.

I wasn’t required to demonstrate expertise or even competence. I didn’t have to submit lesson plans or any sort of standards. The only stumbling block was the School Name, which we hadn’t discussed. But coming up with that took a grand total of ten minutes of brainstorming.

I spent less time and energy registering for my Pizza Hut smartphone app.

It works in our best interest for the system to be so sloppy, but it still makes me sad. How many kids have been pulled out of schools only to have their education taken over by someone with limited reading and math skills? After all, Louisiana has one of the highest adult illiteracy rates in the nation.

But it’s that kind of thinking that turns a pretty cool accomplishment into a sad statement on human affairs, so let’s not go there.