LIBERATE! Pocket-Sized Paradigms for Liberatory Learning

In Liberate! Pocket-Sized Paradigms for Liberatory Learning, Dr. Pledger presents a comprehensive how-to guide for any educator who aspires to design educational experiences that are responsive to culturally and linguistically diverse young people. Grounded in theory and practice, this guide is an accessible reference text that provides the "what", "why", and "how" of LIBERATING your:

• Consciousness
• Curriculum
• Classroom
• Cognitive Capacity Bias
• Communication
• Conduct Constructs

If you are an advocate of multicultural education, culturally relevant teaching, culturally responsive pedagogy, or social-emotional learning, you will appreciate how Pledger integrates identity, equity, and liberation throughout the text. It takes a little over an hour to read and a lifetime to implement, so let this be your go-to guide as you design for liberatory learning!

Illustrated by Enrique "Chikle" Lugo, Forward by Aisha Bain, Edited by Krista Galleberg.

Praise for LIBERATE!

“Michelle Pledger is a brilliant scholar and educator that has somehow managed to give us a text that offers equal parts theory, practice, inspiration, motivation and instruction. This is an absolute must read. I am thankful that it is out in the world.”

—Dr. Christopher Emdin, Professor, University of Southern California, Ratchedemic

“Michelle's work is deeply researched and experienced, and has a laser-like focus on equity, coupled with practical ways to concretize practitioner's work. Most importantly, Liberate! is written with a deep sense of love - love of self, love of others, and love of what is possible in the world when our collective liberation is the focus.”

—Michelle Molitor, Founder and Director of The Equity Lab

“Go ahead and get two because your copy will soon be highlighted, underlined, scribbled into, dog-eared, and tattered from constant use…”

—Becky Margiotta, Co-Founder of the Billions Institute, Impact with Integrity: Repair the World without Breaking Yourself

More about the author:

Dr. Michelle Sadrena Pledger is the Director of Liberation at the Center for Research on Equity and Innovation, a center that brings together practitioners, researchers and youth to address complex problems of practice in K-12 education and create more equitable, engaging learning environments for all students. As a faculty member at High Tech High’s Graduate School of Education, she co-teaches Justice: Self, Schools, and Society, Introduction to Culturally Responsive-Sustaining Pedagogy, and Leadership for School Change. And, as a Freedom Facilitator, she consults with organizations and districts who seek to liberate self, others, and systems.

Dr. Pledger earned an Ed.D. in Educational Leadership with an emphasis in social justice education through a joint doctoral program at the University of California, San Diego and California State University, San Marcos. Her research focused on cultivating culturally responsive teaching and classroom management self-efficacy in novice and veteran teachers for the purpose of improving academic opportunities and outcomes for culturally and linguistically diverse students. She was recently awarded the 2022 Outstanding Alumnus Award by the CSUSM College of Health and Human Services.

Dr. Pledger is committed to disrupting inequity in education and cultivating a community of practitioners who honor the lived experiences of all their students and educators. Whether it is through the vehicle of project-based learning, culturally responsive-sustaining pedagogy, or freedom facilitation, her hope is to develop a collective community who thinks critically, acts empathetically, and lives for liberation.

You can learn more about her keynote, professional development, and consulting services at www.michellepledger.com or livingforliberation.com.