Freedom Teaching
Overcoming Racism in Education to Create Classrooms Where All Students Succeed
1. Edition February 2024
192 Pages, Hardcover
Wiley & Sons Ltd
Further versions
Build an anti-racist and culturally responsive school environment
In Freedom Teaching, educator and distinguished anti-racism practitioner Matthew Kincaid delivers a one-stop resource for educators and educational leaders seeking to improve equity and increase the cultural responsiveness of their school. In this book, you'll discover the meaning and fundamentals of anti-racist education and find a roadmap to reducing the impact of systemic racism in your classroom.
The author offers skills and tools he's developed over the course of his lengthy career teaching anti-racist ideas to educators, providing readers with strategies that are effective at both the individual teacher and collective school community level. Readers will also find:
* A thorough introduction to the idea of Freedom Teaching and creating an education system that works for all students
* Strategies for building and maintaining anti-racist schools and classrooms
* Important social justice lessons from unsung activists
An indispensable resource for educators, educational leaders, and anyone who wants to actualize change in our education system, Freedom Teachingbelongs in the libraries of the parents and families of students and teachers in training hoping for a better understanding on anti-racist concepts and ideas.
Chapter 1: Setting Intention 1
Intention Matters 3
Agreement #1: Engage with Uncomfortable Truths 4
Agreement #2: Replace a Scarcity Mindset with a Possibility Mindset 6
Agreement #3: Embrace Your Radical Imagination 8
Agreement #4: Center Students 9
Notes 10
Chapter 2: Freedom Teaching's Foundation 11
What Is Freedom Teaching? 13
Theory of Change 16
Change the Environment, Change the Outcomes 16
Adjust the Camera Angle 19
Use the Right Tools 21
Freedom Teaching's Five Tenets and How to Use Them 24
Notes 25
Chapter 3: Hope That Is Radical 27
Rosa Parks and Radical Hope 28
Reclaiming Radical 31
Using Our Tools 34
Notes 37
Chapter 4: From Radical Hope to Practice 39
Sharing Power with Students 43
Strategies That Cede Power to Students 50
Notes 54
Chapter 5: Free Minds, Free Kids 55
The Mind Is a Terrible Thing to Waste 56
Limiting Beliefs and the Cycle of Socialization 58
Aligning Our Attitudes and Our Behaviors 64
Note 65
Chapter 6: It Isn't Rigorous, If It Isn't Relevant 67
Embracing Our Power 67
The Freedom Teaching Model 73
Cognitive Empowerment 77
Academic Achievement 82
Academic Identity 83
Academic Proficiency 84
Critical Rigor 85
Social and Emotional Well-Being 89
Cultural Competence 90
Critical Consciousness 93
Curriculum, Pedagogy, and Environment 99
Notes 102
Chapter 7: Trouble Doesn't Teach 103
Reinforcing the Behaviors We Want 106
Anecdote #1 111
Anecdote #2 113
Misbehaviors Are an Opportunity to Teach 115
Identify Traits and Skills of Empowered Students 118
Consider the Effect of Consequences 119
Align Consequences to Student Goals and Values 120
Aim for Consequences That Are Restorative, Student-Driven, and Community-Focused 121
Aim for Consequences That Are Consistent, Predictable, and Compassionate 123
Notes 125
Chapter 8: Cultivating a Classroom That Values Cultural Wealth 127
Culturally Affirming Education 129
What Is Cultural Wealth? 130
Aspirational Capital 131
Linguistic Capital 132
Familial Capital 134
Social Capital and Navigational Capital 136
Resistant Capital 139
Standpoint Theory and Cultural Wealth 141
Envisioning Equity 147
Notes 148
Chapter 9: Oh Freedom: Staying on the Battlefield 151
Freedom Song 154
On Hope 159
Notes 160
About the Author 161
Acknowledgments 163
Index 167
"Matthew Kincaid has been a leader in freedom teaching for many years, exemplifying the principles on which he writes and refining the principles he shares. He has set a powerful blueprint, and this book serves as a reminder that freedom- and hate- begin in the classroom. Freedom Teaching helps us make the right choices with intention and love."
--Brittany Packnett Cunningham, activist and host of UNDISTRACTED
"Matthew Kincaid has been leading anti-racism initiatives since he was 14 years old. His passion, commitment and dedication to this cause is illustrated in the attention to detail in this book. Freedom Teaching strikes at the core of the injustice in our education system while offering vision for a more hopeful, just and equitable future."
--Constance Jones, Noble Schools, CEO
"As a lifelong advocate for change, Matthew Kincaid has written an indispensable guide for educators and activists alike. This book brilliantly unpacks the complexities of anti-racism in education."
--Salvatore Larocca, President, Global Partnerships, National Basketball Association and Chairman of the Board of Trustees, La Salle Academy
"Freedom Teaching is a powerful tool to advance social justice education with K-12 schools! For educators who are committed to leveraging education as a mechanism to promote justice, liberation, and empowerment, this text richly equips you with the strategies or how. I have always been a fan of Matthew Kincaid's work, and this text is yet another manifestation of his genius! I highly recommend it, and cannot wait to leverage it as a tool to support both new and seasoned educators looking for resources to expand their ability to help craft youth who are agents of change within our world!"
--Krystal H. Allen, author of What Goes Unspoken, CEO, K Allen Consulting
"When it comes to the critical truth telling needed to shake up age-old systems and structures so they can't operate as they have in the past, Matthew Kincaid is without equal. I have been an advocate of Matthew's scholarship for many years and Freedom Teaching gives me hope that it is possible for ALL children to learn in an environment justly designed for them to flourish."
--Liliahn Majeed, DE&I Executive and Disruptor of Deficit Narratives
