Joyful Learning: How to Find Freedom, Happiness, and Success Beyond Conventional Schooling

by Kerry McDonald

From the bestselling author of Unschooled, an exploration of new, low-cost K–12 learning models that favor individualized, learner-centered education

Across the United States, parents, teachers, administrators, policymakers, and ordinary citizens are increasingly frustrated by the rigidity and standardization of modern schooling, and they are seeking alternatives. Openness to different learning models reached new heights during the COVID-19 pandemic and continues to accelerate. Entrepreneurial parents and teachers are responding to the growing demand for learning models that challenge the status quo. They are creating micro schools, learning pods, homeschooling collaboratives, online learning networks, and other flexible educational models that provide specialized, individualized education, often at a lower cost than traditional private schools. Joyful Learning shares the experiences of these everyday entrepreneurs who are reimagining learning in their communities, showing parents what is possible for their children and encouraging aspiring school founders to take their own enterprising leaps. Blending fresh storytelling with straightforward advice, Joyful Learning is an inspiring, relevant, and timely book for parents looking for different education options for their children, as well as would-be education entrepreneurs hoping to launch their own creative learning solutions.

Audible Audio

Published August 19, 2025

About the author

Kerry McDonald is an education policy writer and unschooling advocate whose articles have appeared in Forbes, Newsweek, NPR, Education Next, Natural Mother Magazine, FEE.org, Reason Magazine, and City Journal, among others. She has a B.A. in Economics from Bowdoin College and an M.Ed. in education policy from Harvard University. She is co-founder of AlternativesToSchool.com, and a member of the Board of Directors of the Alliance for Self-Directed Education.