Reclaiming Education

Freedom to Teach = Liberated to Learn

When people think of teaching or school, they rarely think of freedom. Even those who loved school wouldn’t describe it as liberating. And I went to school before the rise of the global education reform movement (GERM)—before rigid national standards, hyper-testing, and privatization transformed classrooms into pressure cookers. Before free play and recess were replaced with screens and academic mandates.

Let me be clear: school has never been perfect. For generations, it’s been used as a tool of colonization and control. From segregated schools that dehumanized Black children to boarding schools that stole Indigenous children from their families, education in the U.S. has long upheld white supremacy.

And yet—education has also always been a path to freedom.

Enslaved Africans risked their lives to learn to read. Black educators during Jim Crow practiced fugitive pedagogy to subvert racist schooling. Leaders across the Global South—from Ella Baker to Paulo Freire—have shown us that education can be the practice of freedom.

So why, in 2025, do so many classrooms feel like sites of constraint rather than liberation?

We see overwhelmed teachers, over-tested students, and anxious parents. We hear politicians demand “rigor” while slashing budgets. We feel the burnout, the boredom, the disconnection. And somehow, this has become normal.

But what if it doesn’t have to be?

What if we refused to accept this erosion of joy—for ourselves and for our students? What if we reclaimed education not as a system to survive, but as a space to imagine something better?

We don’t need to wait for a global revolution. We can start now—with one teacher, one classroom, one school.

Maybe that teacher is you.

Maybe you’re here because you believe things can be better. Even if you don’t know how, you want better. You believe that you, your students, and the families you serve all deserve more than a system built on compliance and control.

If that’s you—welcome. This space is for you.

I created this community to support early childhood educators who are ready to reclaim their professional freedom, resist harmful mandates, and return to what we know works: child-led, free play, developmentally grounded learning.

This isn’t just about play. It’s about power. It’s about reclaiming joy. It’s about creating classrooms where teachers can teach with intention—and children are free to learn, explore, and thrive.

You are not alone. Across the country, there are educators doing this work. I’ve seen it. I’ve learned from them. And now, I want to share what I’ve learned with you.

Together, we can build something better.