About this item
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.
About the Author
Kerry McDonald is an education policy writer and unschooling advocate whose articles have appeared at the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Newsweek, NPR, Education Next, Entrepreneur, Reason Magazine, and the Journal of School Choice, among others. She has a B.A. in Economics from Bowdoin College and an M.Ed. in education policy from Harvard University. Kerry is a Senior Education Fellow at the Foundation for Economic Education, and an Adjunct Scholar at the Cato Institute. She lives and learns together with her husband and four unschooled children in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Follow her on Twitter @kerry_edu.
