“idiotic teachers telling you what to do, requiring you to do extremely stupid stuff.” I don’t want to be curt, but that’s how life is. There’s a surprising need to conform, if you want the usual path- college, law school, satisfactory work. I’m suggesting you find your “glass half full.”
Comm college profs will still assign work that may not meet your own preferences. The colleges may have various course requirements for majors and to graduate. Yes, you will manage your time, but per their goals. And that can include more than “just attending classes, doing assigned work, handing it in, getting a grade and that’s it.”
So, the step is to explore your local cc and see how it operates. there are some that cater, eg, to working folks or older college students and adjust to their needs.