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School Isn't For Everyone (and what you can do instead): A practical neuro-affirming guide to unschooling
240 pages, Paperback
Published February 19, 2026
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Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Schooling Isn't For Everyone sheds light on home education and the benefits it can have for the learners who experience it. After all, as the title states, traditional school isn't for everyone, and this books shows the different avenue people can take when to comes to home education. Although this appears to cover a more UK bases educational system and milestones, what Heidi Steel shares can be applied elsewhere too.
It is difficult to navigate and grow in a world where the expectations are that every student to fit into the same box, needs to meet the same milestones at the same exact time, while also learning the same exact way. There is no denying that parts of the education system is broken, especially with the standardized way kids are tested to ensure they have learned and retained what they should know at any given time. It can also be hard for one classroom teacher to meet the needs and learning style of every single learner in the room. This it what makes Steel's book interesting, she gives ideas on different ways to approach learning that can meet the individual needs of all learners, and it is with a huge emphasis on play to learn.
What makes the book special is that she was an educator before she turned to unschooling for her own children. What she shares in this book is her own experiences, what worked and didn't with her own children, and she also brings in thoughts and stories from not only parents who chose the unschooling approach with their children, but she also interviews and shares experiences with students who've learned in an unschooling environment. It offers a more well-rounded look as opposed to her own singular view on this subject.
This being said, there was a fair amount of repetitiveness in the book. There were times I felt like she was paraphrasing herself instead of adding something different or bringing in new information. It kind of felt like she was trying to hit an arbitrary word count, making it feel like she didn't have enough information to support the claims she was making, so she presentes them again in a different way and hoped we wouldn't notice. It sort of made it feel preachy at times because of this approach, which was not what I was expecting when I chose to read this book, and it left me a little annoyed at times because I was excited to read about the unschooling approach.
What bothers me most about this book is that there were points where it came across as an attack on the education system and traditional teachers alike. Yes, there's room for improvement, but there's a difference between pointing out what is wrong or broken and making it seem like everyone involved in it is a failure and can't help students. While I hope that was not the author's intention to come across this way, it left me with a sour taste in my mouth when I was hoping to be inspired by this book. Education is constantly shifting, evolving, and the concept of unschooling offers an important take on learning. However, it should not be at the expense of people who dedicate their lives to the traditional education system or the parents that entrust their child's education to those teachers. Both ways of learning have their merits, and parents/guardians shouldn't feel pressured to think there's only one right way to educate children.
Overall, I think this would be a great educational tool for someone who is considering a different approach to their child's education. However, for traditional educators who are trying to broaden their knowledge and ways to meet all students' needs, this might not be for you. It does have some interesting points that could be brought into the traditional classroom. First and foremost though, it is a book that is more geared toward a full dismantling of traditional education in favor of concepts that would be a hard sell to most administrations, making it (as a whole) something that can not be carries out to full potential in a classroom setting.
Thank you NetGalley and Jessica Kingsley Publishers for giving me an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
It is difficult to navigate and grow in a world where the expectations are that every student to fit into the same box, needs to meet the same milestones at the same exact time, while also learning the same exact way. There is no denying that parts of the education system is broken, especially with the standardized way kids are tested to ensure they have learned and retained what they should know at any given time. It can also be hard for one classroom teacher to meet the needs and learning style of every single learner in the room. This it what makes Steel's book interesting, she gives ideas on different ways to approach learning that can meet the individual needs of all learners, and it is with a huge emphasis on play to learn.
What makes the book special is that she was an educator before she turned to unschooling for her own children. What she shares in this book is her own experiences, what worked and didn't with her own children, and she also brings in thoughts and stories from not only parents who chose the unschooling approach with their children, but she also interviews and shares experiences with students who've learned in an unschooling environment. It offers a more well-rounded look as opposed to her own singular view on this subject.
This being said, there was a fair amount of repetitiveness in the book. There were times I felt like she was paraphrasing herself instead of adding something different or bringing in new information. It kind of felt like she was trying to hit an arbitrary word count, making it feel like she didn't have enough information to support the claims she was making, so she presentes them again in a different way and hoped we wouldn't notice. It sort of made it feel preachy at times because of this approach, which was not what I was expecting when I chose to read this book, and it left me a little annoyed at times because I was excited to read about the unschooling approach.
What bothers me most about this book is that there were points where it came across as an attack on the education system and traditional teachers alike. Yes, there's room for improvement, but there's a difference between pointing out what is wrong or broken and making it seem like everyone involved in it is a failure and can't help students. While I hope that was not the author's intention to come across this way, it left me with a sour taste in my mouth when I was hoping to be inspired by this book. Education is constantly shifting, evolving, and the concept of unschooling offers an important take on learning. However, it should not be at the expense of people who dedicate their lives to the traditional education system or the parents that entrust their child's education to those teachers. Both ways of learning have their merits, and parents/guardians shouldn't feel pressured to think there's only one right way to educate children.
Overall, I think this would be a great educational tool for someone who is considering a different approach to their child's education. However, for traditional educators who are trying to broaden their knowledge and ways to meet all students' needs, this might not be for you. It does have some interesting points that could be brought into the traditional classroom. First and foremost though, it is a book that is more geared toward a full dismantling of traditional education in favor of concepts that would be a hard sell to most administrations, making it (as a whole) something that can not be carries out to full potential in a classroom setting.
Thank you NetGalley and Jessica Kingsley Publishers for giving me an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Displaying 1 of 1 review