#98 There is no one right way to live, with Stephanie McDowell in Texas

#98 There is no one right way to live, with Stephanie McDowell in Texas

From The Unschool Space by Esther Jones

January 6, 2026 · 43 min · Season 1 · Episode 98

About this episode

Esther Jones talks with Stephanie McDowell about her journey from high-school teacher to homeschooling her daughter and addressing personal trauma.

In this episode, I am talking with Stephanie McDowell. Stephanie lives in the US with her husband and five-year old daughter and is a former high-school teacher. Burnt out from her teaching career, she and her husband chose to homeschool their daughter, but Stephanie found the structure and school-focused ways of the homeschooling community an uncomfortable mismatch. She realised that she needed to focus first on herself and began to unpick some trauma from her childhood and her relationship ...

People in this episode

Host: Esther Jones

Guest: Stephanie McDowell

Topics covered

  • homeschooling
  • personal growth
  • trauma
  • education
  • family dynamics

Keywords

  • homeschooling
  • burnout
  • education
  • trauma
  • family

Mentioned in this episode

Places: Texas, US

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