I'm curious, do you ever have discussions with him where you make it clear that you know he is "playing the game" so to speak, or do you also try and hold up the charade? (I know it's less black and white than that, I'm speaking in extremes to make a clear question.)
Like all teenagers, he is capable of of reason, judgement, introspective listening, and a sense of how he actually fits into the cosmos. In 5-10 minute bursts.
In other words: I might as well be the teacher addressing the question of whether the dog has the Buddha-nature. I try, but realistically. And then I make him write the papers.
You're making a flippant comment, but as I think all parents know, there is a baseline level of compliance you can safely expect to achieve for reasonable effort. What if your kid doesn't like "going to school in the morning"? What if your kid doesn't like "turning the lights out and trying to go to sleep after 1:00AM"?
It is worth recognizing the difference between compliance that comes at great cost and compliance that doesn't. In my case: I'll live with late assignments and mediocre grades, as long as the assignments eventually get done, in one giant batch with me checking them off if need be.
I ask because I personally know a handful of people who dropped out of high school to take on high paying jobs, some athletic and some technical. If your kid is intelligent and has a passion for something that deviates from traditional paths, what should you do?
