GET FREE | the study guide

NOW AVAILABLE! To help process the ideas covered in the book, a study guide is under development for those looking to take a reflective, intentional approach to applying the ideas in the book to their classrooms. For both individual and small group use.

DOWNLOAD COMPLETE STUDY GUIDE

If you are a group (10 or more members) / department / school organizing a book study of Get Free, sign up for a complimentary online 30-min author Q&A.

FOREWORD

We are each other’s

business:

We are each other’s

magnitude and bond.
– Gwendolyn Brooks

READ THE FORWARD

*The Philippine sun (“araw”): symbolizes the spark and light in each individual that makes them unique*

INTRODUCTION

“A liberatory consciousness requires every individual to not only notice what is going on in the world around her or him, but to think about it and theorize about it—that is, to get information and develop his or her own explanation for what is happening, why it is happening, and what needs to be done about it.”
– Barbara J. Love

INTRODUCTION STUDY GUIDE

*A scene of the Mayon Volcano: symbolizes reflection and the self through a reflected image of the famous volcano*

1 / STARTING WITH OURSELVES

“To the extent that people reflect upon their lives and become more conscious of themselves as actors in the world, conscious, too, of the vast range of alternatives that can be imagined and expressed in any given situation, capable of joining in community and asserting themselves as subjects in history, constructors of the human world, they recreate themselves as free human beings.”
– William Ayers

Download “How Inclusive is your Literacy Classroom… really?” guide (PDF)

CHAPTER 1 • STUDY GUIDE

*The Maya bird (“mayang pula”), a common bird in the Philippines: symbolizes how a bird takes that first step to bravery that inspire others to take action*

2 / CREATING BRAVE SPACES

“If you have come here to help me, you are wasting your time.

But if you have come because your liberation is bound up with mine, then let us work together.”
– Lilla Watson

CHAPTER 2 • STUDY GUIDE

*The Philippine Mango (“mangga”): symbolizes how we can open our different sides to people, similar to a mango having different sides that reveal what’s inside*

3 / UNPACKING MULTITUDES

“The concept of identity is a complex one, shaped by individual characteristics, family dynamics, historical figures, and social and political contexts. Who am I? The answer depends in large part on who the world around me says I am. Who do my parents say I am? Who do my peers say I am? What message is reflected back to me in the faces of teachers, my neighbors, store clerks? What do I learn from the media about myself? How am I represented in the cultural images around me? Or am I missing from the picture altogether?”
– Beverly Daniel Tatum

CHAPTER 3 • STUDY GUIDE

*Coconut trees: symbolizes different trees bent as if they are talking to one another*

4 / LISTENING AND SPEAKING

“The fact that we are here and that I speak these words is an attempt to break that silence and bridge some of those differences between us, for it is not difference which immobilizes us, but silence. And there are so many silences to be broken.”
– Audre Lorde

CHAPTER 4 • STUDY GUIDE

*Philippine kalesa; symbolizes how literature transports and opens us up to different places, ideas, and perspectives*

5 / RETHINKING READING

“We are in an imagination battle… Imagination has people thinking they can go from being poor to a millionaire as part of a shared American dream. Imagination turns Brown bombers into terrorists and white bombers into mentally ill victims. Imagination gives us borders, gives us superiority, gives us race as an indicator of capability. I often feel like I am trapped inside someone else’s imagination, and I must engage my own imagination in order to break free.”
– Adrienne Marie Brown

CHAPTER 5 • STUDY GUIDE

*Vinta boats, traditional outrigger boat from Mindanao: symbolizes how we can all be in different boats with different ideas*

6 / PERSPECTIVE-TAKING AND PERSPECTIVE-BENDING

“Reading always requires critical perception, interpretation, and ‘rewriting’ what is read. Its task is to unveil what is hidden in the text. I always say to the students with whom I work, ‘Reading is not walking on the words; it’s grasping the soul of them.’”
– Paolo Friere

CHAPTER 6 • STUDY GUIDE

*The Chocolate Hills, a geological formation in Bohol: symbolizes multiple small things can make up a whole wonder, like the Chocolate Hills*

EPILOGUE

“Raising a child requires profound strength and hope. You must believe in your ability to forge a future that is better than the one we currently inhabit, even if you never live to see it.”
– Angela Garbes

FINAL REFLECTION QUESTIONS

*A Philippine Jeepney road scene: symbolizes how everyone from different backgrounds can come together in one place, like in a Jeepney ride*

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

“The only way to survive is by taking care of one another.”
– Grace Lee Boggs