The Unschooler's Educational Dictionary: A Lighthearted Introduction to the World of Education and Curriculum-Free Alternatives (Active Learning)

A deep dive into the complex world of education that will forever change how you think about your child’s school, from the creator of the popular educational YouTube channel, Sprouts.

“A fantastic guide for one of the most important decisions we can make: choosing the right school for a child.” ― Barbara Oakley, PhD, author of A Mind for Numbers.

Revolutionize your understanding of education. The Unschooler’s Educational Dictionary uncovers the myths and misconceptions of traditional schooling, exposing its unintended consequences, outdated methods. It introduces you to the essential concepts related to child development, learning, and psychology and simplifies the complexities of education into plain truths and practical insights. An indispensable survival guide, the book offers sarcastic yet insightful commentary on the importance of autonomy, active learning and child-led discovery. 

Empower your approach to parenting and teaching. The Unschooler’s Educational Dictionary helps parents and educators navigate modern education, providing an overview of innovative schools and proven alternative philosophies, including: Montessori, Microschools, IB schools, Unschooling, Waldorf, and more.

It reveals how traditional schooling may fail your child and presents alternatives for fostering a love for learning.

Inside, you'll find:

• Essential concepts every parent must consider.
• Profound insights into the unintended consequences of traditional education.
• A detailed guide to 16 alternative educational models.
• Practical applications of renowned theories such as Active Learning, Project-Based Learning, and the Feynman Technique, alongside big ideas from thinkers like Bowlby, Erikson, Piaget, Dewey, and Montessori.
• A short history of alternative education.
• A checklist of essential questions to help you choose the right school for your child.
• Plenty of illustrations, graphs, and QR codes.

The Unschooler’s Educational Dictionary will reshape how you think about education, blending humor with intellectual depth to make your journey both fun and enlightening.

If you enjoyed How Children Learn, Learning How to Learn, Cribsheet, and Raising Good Humans, you’ll love The Unschooler’s Educational Dictionary.

Jonas Koblin was born in 1978 in Munich, Germany. He received a Waldorf school education and had a stint with FC Bayern. At the age of eleven, Koblin was invited to live with the then-richest family in America―an experience that taught him the good and bad sides of ultimate wealth.

After dropping out of high school, Koblin traveled to India, where he was confronted with real poverty. Age nineteen he then started a nonprofit and a series of charity events. By 2007, Koblin was juggling college and three companies simultaneously. After some commercial success (Madonna became a client), Koblin prioritized personal growth over commercial success and took a step back. He completed the Hoffman Process, met his wife and pursued his interest in education.

In 2016, Koblin began producing educational videos aimed at introducing aspiring educators to the social sciences. In 2020, he co-authored a lesson on Active Learning with Nobel Prize-winning physicist Carl Wieman, and in 2021, the Sprouts channel reached 1 million subscribers on YouTube. Today, Sprouts Schools' video lessons are available in over ten languages, viewed by millions of students each month, and are integrated into university curricula worldwide. In 2024, Jonas Koblin was awarded a prize for Best Open-Access Education by TREFF–the Education Film Festival in Tromsø, Norway.

Besides Sprouts Schools, Koblin also founded Mali, a virtual companion that has helped over hundred thousand new parents through the first 1,000 days of their child's life, and the Sprouts Kindergarten that is focusing on early project-based learning.

He lives in Bangkok with his wife and their three children.