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Unschooled: Raising Curious, Well-Educated Children Outside the Conventional Classroom Paperback – May 7, 2019

by Kerry McDonald (Author), Peter Gray PhD (Foreword)
4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars 414 ratings
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Education has become synonymous with schooling, but it doesn’t have to be. As schooling becomes increasingly standardized and test driven, occupying more of childhood than ever before, parents and educators are questioning the role of schooling in society. Many are now exploring and creating alternatives. In a compelling narrative that introduces historical and contemporary research on self-directed education, Unschooled also spotlights how a diverse group of individuals and organizations are evolving an old schooling model of education. These innovators challenge the myth that children need to be taught in order to learn. They are parents who saw firsthand how schooling can dull children’s natural curiosity and exuberance and others who decided early on to enable their children to learn without school. Educators who left public school classrooms discuss launching self-directed learning centers to allow young people’s innate learning instincts to flourish, and entrepreneurs explore their disillusionment with the teach-and-test approach of traditional schooling.
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  1. Print length
    288 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Chicago Review Press
  4. Publication date
    May 7, 2019
  5. Grade level
    Kindergarten - 12
  6. Dimensions
    6 x 0.6 x 9 inches
  7. ISBN-10
    1641600632
  8. ISBN-13
    978-1641600637
  9. See all details
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Unschooled
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Editorial Reviews

Review

“Kerry McDonald is leagues ahead of the rest of the education reform community. This book demonstrates why. McDonald’s robust evidence of high-quality education without schooling forces us to consider something that makes everyone feel very uncomfortable: our system of compulsory schooling may do more harm than good.” —Corey DeAngelis, author of Doing More with Less and The School Choice Voucher

"This book is a reassuring read that not only delves into the history of unschooling, but also practical advice on how it can be implemented.” —Book Riot

“Kerry McDonald’s Unschooled is a remarkable overview of the growing grassroots movement away from institutionalized education and toward self-directed learning in our homes and communities.” —Patrick Farenga, author of Teach Your Own and publisher of Growing Without Schooling magazine and www.HoltGWS.com
 

“Whether you’re currently unschooling, curious about unschooling, or simply know that something’s not right with the institutionalized educational model, Kerry McDonald’s Unschooled is an invaluable resource. To read it is to realize just how rich education can be.” —Ben Hewitt, author of Home Grown
 

“This well-researched, inspiring book clearly demonstrates that self-directed education supports each person’s innate curiosity and drive to learn. While the form it takes is unique to the individual, experience shows it typically fosters confidence, community engagement, and an abiding love of learning. Hope is right here in these pages.” —Laura Grace Weldon, author of Free Range Learning
 

“Unschooled manages to offer everything: a coherent history lesson, fascinating profiles, an explanation of how self-directed learning works, and an overview of innovative programs, all delivered in a lively, encouraging voice.” —Grace Llewellyn, author of The Teenage Liberation Handbook and Guerrilla Learning
 

“This book makes a compelling case for giving kids back their brains, time, curiosity, drive—and joy!” —Lenore Skenazy, president of Let Grow and founder of Free-Range Kids 
 

“Unschooled is a wonderful book, enviably balanced between rock-solid data and warm-hearted stories about real families and real young people who have flourished outside our country’s factory-inspired school systems. It’s not the first book to see how bright and interesting the world can be outside the soiled—and, these days, often barred—windows of America’s schools, but it’s fresh, convincing, and clearly written.” —Robert Epstein, PhD, senior research psychologist, American Institute for Behavioral Research and Technology, and author of Teen 2.0: Saving Our Children and Families from the Torment of Adolescence

“There’s benefit for almost anyone in America reading this…Unschooled is easily one of the best books I’ve read this decade.” --Titus 2 Homemaker

“An impressively informative, thoughtful and thought-provoking study.” --Midwest Book Review

"A fascinating read, filled with insights." --Reason Podcast on Reason Online

About the Author

Kerry McDonald is an education policy writer whose articles have appeared in Forbes, Newsweek, NPR, Reason, Education Next, City Journal, and Natural Mother and Green Child magazines, among others. She has a BA in economics from Bowdoin College, a master’s degree in education from Harvard University and is a board member at the Alliance for Self-Directed Education. The mother of four never-been-schooled children, McDonald lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts and blogs at WholeFamilyLearning.com. Peter Gray, PhD, is a research professor in Boston College’s Department of Psychology.
 

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Chicago Review Press (May 7, 2019)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 288 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1641600632
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1641600637
  • Grade level ‏ : ‎ Kindergarten - 12
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 14.4 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 0.6 x 9 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars 414 ratings

About the author

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Kerry McDonald

Kerry McDonald

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Kerry McDonald works to spotlight and support education entrepreneurs who are building innovative K-12 learning models and expanding education options for families. She is the host of the twice-weekly LiberatED podcast and the author of several books including, Unschooled: Raising Curious, Well-Educated Children Outside the Conventional Classroom (Chicago Review Press, 2019). Kerry is a senior fellow at the Foundation for Economic Education, an adjunct scholar at the Cato Institute, and the Velinda Jonson Family Education Fellow at State Policy Network. In addition to her regular columns at Forbes and The 74, Kerry's articles have appeared at The Wall Street Journal, The New York Post, NPR, Newsweek, Real Clear Politics, Reason Magazine, Washington Examiner, City Journal, Entrepreneur, Education Next, and the Journal of School Choice, among others. She has a B.A. in economics from Bowdoin College and a Master’s degree in education policy from Harvard University. Kerry lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts with her husband and four children, who have always been unconventionally educated.

Customer reviews

4.7 out of 5 stars
414 global ratings

Customers say

Customers find the book has good information and encouragement. They also say it's packed with great food for thought about education. Readers describe the book as excellent, important, and treasured.

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Research qualityReadability
20 customers mention "Research quality"20 positive0 negative

Customers find the book's research quality excellent and important. They say it's packed with great food for thought about how and why we educate. Readers also mention the author is extremely knowledgeable and has provided ample research to support her. They appreciate the resource sections and say the book will open their eyes to many things.

"...Kerry is extremely knowledgable and has provided ample research to support her claims...." Read more

"...I think this book is extremely important reading for parents, teachers and anyone who is concerned with education...." Read more

"...Her rational and support of homeschooling is always well-researched and can shut up even the most ardent critics of homeschooling...." Read more

"This book is filled with lots of great information. So much to think about in the way of education, it's purpose and how kids learn...." Read more

10 customers mention "Readability"10 positive0 negative

Customers find the book excellent, important, and treasured. They appreciate the grounded approach to fixing failures of our societies.

"...It is SO. GOOD. I wish I could give a copy of this book to all parents, not just homeschooling ones!..." Read more

"...Thank you, Kerry, for this important and treasured book!" Read more

"...The book is very grounded in how it approaches fixing the failures of our public school system...." Read more

"...A great read!" Read more

For the geeky parents who could use a confidence boost
5 out of 5 stars
For the geeky parents who could use a confidence boost
Unschooled: Raising Curious, Well-Educated Children Outside the Conventional Classroom by Kerry McDonald is an academic read for us geeky mamas who are all about making informed choices. Kerry has a master's degree in education policy from Harvard University and is the mother of 4 unschooled children, both of which come together nicely to fill in the "why" for all your natural learning questions while painting a picture of what unschooling can look like both on a family and society level. This book will set your mind at ease and show you iterations of unschooling that you may not have considered."School is as far from natural for a child as a zoo is for a zebra."
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Top reviews from the United States

Abby
5.0 out of 5 stars This book is a GEM!
Reviewed in the United States on September 27, 2019
Verified Purchase
After six years of homeschooling my kids, I've finally come to the conclusion that we are probably better off unschooling! Here is just one example. My second oldest has struggled with learning how to read for years. He resisted with every fiber of his being. I would back off for a while and then try again. Same response. He just couldn't be pushed. The anxiety and tears he experienced was just too much for him. I finally decided that it wasn't worth the fight. I couldn't force him to learn something he wasn't ready for. I let go and tried to trust that he would read when he was ready. He is nine, almost ten, now and is just barely starting to read. He is showing interest in early readers and will actually willingly read to me as long as I'm not the one that suggests it. This is a huge milestone for him.

After reading "Unschooling", I am convinced that unschooling can work. Kerry is extremely knowledgable and has provided ample research to support her claims. She provides an overview of how the compulsory education (schooling) system began in the United States and includes how it is failing children today. Over and over she iterates that education and schooling are NOT synonymous. I agree 1000%. She talks about how our "schooled" mindset leads us to think that children need to be taught in order to learn. But this is simply not true! She provides copious examples that illustrate just how much children can learn when given the freedom to follow their own specific interests. When left to their own devices, children will constantly be learning and exploring because it is important to them!

There is so much I wish I could share from this book, but you just need to read it yourself. It is SO. GOOD. I wish I could give a copy of this book to all parents, not just homeschooling ones! I know that unschooling has formerly been a radical idea, but when you break it down and look at the research and success stories, I think it should be considered by more parents, families, and educators. We can't change anything unless we challenge the norm. If you are wanting to learn more about unschooling, or how child-led learning works, you need to read this book!
59 people found this helpful
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John Martin
5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent and important book about education
Reviewed in the United States on June 27, 2019
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In Unschooled Kerry McDonald presents the case against traditional schooling and for unschooling, which is a form of homeschooling. In traditional schooling she says, “The most important lesson for children to learn is obedience and memorization.” It is a product of the industrial age and no longer relevant in what she terms the “Imagination Age.” Schooling she says, “results in a pattern of conformity, obedience and authoritarianism and prevents the development of creativity, exuberance, natural curiosity and inventiveness that are the hallmarks of the Imagination Age.” She distinguishes unschooling from homeschooling in that the latter is more structured and typically includes a curriculum, whereas unschooling is more self-directed learning in which the child decides what he or she wants to learn. Moreover, unschooling is “a moral choice” that “gives children more freedom and control over their lives by letting them learn instead of being schooled.” Ms. McDonald also provides numerous examples of unschooling choices and each chapter includes several unschooling tips.

I think this book is extremely important reading for parents, teachers and anyone who is concerned with education. At the same time there are considerations that Ms. McDonald does not really address. For one ,not every parent can engage in unschooling, either because he or she has to work to earn income needed just to live or because the parent lacks the qualifications to unschool the child (McDonald unschooled her children, but she has a masters in education from the Harvard School of Education. Other mothers who unschool their children have similar degrees.) Secondly, one of the most important features of school is that it is a certificating system—the goal is to get a formal recognition that the student has competed a certain degree of education, i.e. a diploma. In my case for example, I have several such diplomas including a doctoral degree and while I believe that I have learned a lot more outside of school than inside, this formal piece of paper is what has enabled me to get many of the jobs I have gotten. The author states that many students who are unschooled do get into universities, but at that point their education becomes “schooled.” Finally the author does not address the question of how school can be made more like unschool, since it is not likely that the entrenched education establishment will convert the present system to one that is like the unschooled model.
This book should be required reading for all members of that establishment.
51 people found this helpful
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Wanderlust Learning
5.0 out of 5 stars Homeschooling Food for Thought
Reviewed in the United States on June 28, 2019
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I'm too insecure to unschool - I admit it! I like a curriculum that I can thumb through and see where it is taking us. But I'm also from a generation that has nearly always known what it was like to have GPS at your fingertips. The concept of just seeing where the road will take you is a little bit terrifying to me -- but also exciting.

But I am a fan of Kerry McDonald's writing, especially at Fee.org. Her rational and support of homeschooling is always well-researched and can shut up even the most ardent critics of homeschooling. So, of course I wanted to give her book a read!

It didn't disappoint. Most books about homeschooling are more narrative in style, which can be nice and encouraging, but if you want some meat to justify just how wonderful homeschooling is at the Thanksgiving dinner table to all of your relatives that want to quiz your children, read this! Even if you use a more structured approach to your homeschool you'll enjoy this book. Although we are pretty structured, it has encouraged me to be more adventurous with my own kids during these spring/summer months and I have to say, it's been fun allowing ourselves a little freedom until our co-op begins again in the fall. And isn't that the beauty of homeschooling? To allow ourselves to try something new? To model that for our kids? In doing so, we truly learn more about ourselves than just following a prescribed, worn path.

So whatever your family's homeschooling philosophies, give this one a read! Even if you don't become a full unschooler, you'll surely come away with some fresh ideas.
88 people found this helpful
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Amazon Customer
4.0 out of 5 stars Rethinking education
Reviewed in the United States on July 24, 2020
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This book is filled with lots of great information. So much to think about in the way of education, it's purpose and how kids learn. I really enjoyed it!
One person found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

Sarah
5.0 out of 5 stars completely changed what I see is possible for my children’s education
Reviewed in Canada on February 11, 2022
Verified Purchase
As a new mom, living internationally with my husband working remote my main concern with this lifestyle is how will my children get a good education and socialize without the normal school experience I grew up in. This book helped me see there are SO many people doing education ‘different’ I now have the confidence my children have the opportunity to thrive and make connections through unschooling networks. I am now excited not anxious for the future!
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Naomi hogan
5.0 out of 5 stars A great read
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 27, 2021
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I brought this book as I was curious about unschooling , it's an amazing read and gives a great overall picture around what unschooling is and what it can look like for different families, worth every penny.
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Kindle Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent book for Home-schooling
Reviewed in Australia on August 3, 2024
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Very informative and practical book for those looking for alternatives to mainstream education.
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Angela
5.0 out of 5 stars Informative
Reviewed in Canada on November 4, 2020
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I wanted to learn more about unschooling and this was perfect for that. I learned about how it's done, why it's done and there are a lot of great resources and examples of parents and groups doing some variation of it.
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JustGolda
5.0 out of 5 stars Well written
Reviewed in Canada on July 23, 2019
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Excellent book on child directed education!
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