Welcome to The Liberation Lab©️ Podcast, insights and interviews for the disruptive educator. I’m your host, Bobby Morgan - speaker, principal, consultant, and lifelong disruptor committed to building schools that center justice, genius, and belonging.

🔗Connect with Bobby: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://hopp.bio/liberationlab⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠🌐Learn More: Visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.myliberationlab.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for more resources, tools, and insights.

About This Episode:

In this episode of the Liberation Lab podcast, Crystal M. Watson, a first-year principal in Cincinnati, shares her experiences and challenges in leading a school through a significant transition. The conversation explores the importance of community, the shift from a teacher-centered to a student-centered approach, and the complexities of managing discipline and school culture. Crystal emphasizes the need for collaboration, strategic planning, and the redistribution of power within the school to better serve students and foster a positive learning environment. In this conversation, Bobby and Crystal M. Watson explore the complexities of education, focusing on respect, understanding student perspectives, the impact of technology, and the need for better preparation of future educational leaders. They discuss the importance of compassion in discipline, the challenges posed by modern technology, and the necessity for practical training in leadership roles. The dialogue emphasizes the balance between professional identity and personal life, advocating for a more empathetic approach to education.

About My Guest: Crystal Watson

Crystal Watson is an innovative, passionate educator and leader who always asks “What do the students think?” She is also one of the co-authors of Pedagogies of Voice: Street Data and the Path to Student Agency to be published via Corwin in July 2025.Crystal obtained a Masters of Education at Teachers College at Columbia University and is currently a doctoral candidate at Miami University, OH. Her work is centered around providing space for student voice and identity development in order for all to experience high quality, deep, and personal mathematics.

Connect with Crystal:

Social Media: @CrystalMWatson