Cultivating Genius: An Equity Framework for Culturally and Historically Responsive Literacy
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- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-10-13 06:50:57
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Gholdy Muhammad
- ISBN：1338594893
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Summary
In Cultivating Genius， Dr。 Gholdy E。 Muhammad presents a four-layered equity framework—one that is grounded in history and restores excellence in literacy education。 This framework， which she names， Historically Responsive Literacy， was derived from the study of literacy development within 19th-century Black literacy societies。 The framework is essential and universal for all students， especially youth of color， who traditionally have been marginalized in learning standards， school policies， and classroom practices。 The equity framework will help educators teach and lead toward the following learning goals or pursuits:
Identity Development—Helping youth to make sense of themselves and others
Skill Development— Developing proficiencies across the academic disciplines
Intellectual Development—Gaining knowledge and becoming smarter
Criticality—Learning and developing the ability to read texts （including print and social contexts） to understand power， equity， and anti-oppression
When these four learning pursuits are taught together—through the Historically Responsive Literacy Framework， all students receive profound opportunities for personal， intellectual， and academic success。 Muhammad provides probing， self-reflective questions for teachers， leaders， and teacher educators as well as sample culturally and historically responsive sample plans and text sets across grades and content areas。 In this book， Muhammad presents practical approaches to cultivate the genius in students and within teachers。
Identity Development—Helping youth to make sense of themselves and others
Skill Development— Developing proficiencies across the academic disciplines
Intellectual Development—Gaining knowledge and becoming smarter
Criticality—Learning and developing the ability to read texts （including print and social contexts） to understand power， equity， and anti-oppression
When these four learning pursuits are taught together—through the Historically Responsive Literacy Framework， all students receive profound opportunities for personal， intellectual， and academic success。 Muhammad provides probing， self-reflective questions for teachers， leaders， and teacher educators as well as sample culturally and historically responsive sample plans and text sets across grades and content areas。 In this book， Muhammad presents practical approaches to cultivate the genius in students and within teachers。
Reviews
Summer
，
Excellent book for educators and people who work with young folks
Stephanie
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I know this will be an unpopular opinion， but wow does this book contradict itself on so many levels。 I can get onboard with many of the general ideas， but I cannot get on board with false claims and villanizing teachers。A few examples:“For one， I have never met an unmotivated child in my years working with youth。” （Pg 65）•I love my students - but this screams someone who hasn’t been a teacher for more than a few years。 There are simply unmotivated people and students。 There’s lots of remedies f I know this will be an unpopular opinion， but wow does this book contradict itself on so many levels。 I can get onboard with many of the general ideas， but I cannot get on board with false claims and villanizing teachers。A few examples:“For one， I have never met an unmotivated child in my years working with youth。” （Pg 65）•I love my students - but this screams someone who hasn’t been a teacher for more than a few years。 There are simply unmotivated people and students。 There’s lots of remedies for this， and ways to help - but to villanize teachers for claiming they may have an unmotivated student？ Ridiculous。 As hard as I’ve searched， no where does it list how many years she was a teacher （at most I’ve seen “a few”）。 Interesting。“I also recently had teachers tell me that after they got tenure， they had the choice to go back to teaching in very rote， unresponsive ways because they had more job security。” （Pg 66）•Who？ What exact teachers said this？ What was the context？ What questions did you ask？ Or are you exaggerating to make a point？ What a claim to make。 I’ve never heard a teacher in my life express this， while I’ve seen some teachers who’ve not been great this is the exception not the rule。 Cannot fathom anyone - let alone “many” teachers - saying this out loud。“Before getting to literacy skill development such as decoding， fluency， comprehension， writing， or any other content-learning standards， students must authentically see themselves in the learning。” （Pg 69）•Students need to learn to read。 They need to learn phonics。 They need writing skills。 We do not need to put learning skills and content against students seeing themselves in learning。 •The author claims herself how important it is for students to see and learn about other cultures， yet what if they don’t see themselves in that culture？ Or connect to it？ Do we not teach it？ To claim that all curriculum must explore student identity is overreaching。 Learning is not valuable just because it is related to me， there are some things that are valuable to learn that are not directly related to my identity or sense of self。In short walk away with some good general ideas - but I’d leave this book alone。 There’s so many other great， research based CRE books！ 。。。more
Nicki
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Good layout on how we should think about laying out lessons。 Criticality is key。
Terry Jess
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While this book is a bit repetitive， it also is revolutionary in centering her literacy framework in black historical literary societies and literary practices。 Gholdy Muhammad develops a clear framework that can easily serve as a foundation for any subject area and for a holistic curricular approach。 I think this is aligned and can be intertwined with all of the critical pedagogues， ethnic studies， decolonizing， and antiracist work that we should all be working on。
Wendi
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The best thing about this book is that it not only talks the talk， but walks the walk。 We aren't just told the why， but the *how*。 There are example questions and lesson plans and ways to completely reimagine our classrooms。 No excuses！ I have completely revamped my approach this year based off this book and I am already seeing the benefits。 The best thing about this book is that it not only talks the talk， but walks the walk。 We aren't just told the why， but the *how*。 There are example questions and lesson plans and ways to completely reimagine our classrooms。 No excuses！ I have completely revamped my approach this year based off this book and I am already seeing the benefits。 。。。more
Veronica
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“I discovered that the ways in which literacy was conceptualized and practiced throughout the 19th century among Black populations were more advanced and， compared to how we engage youth today， more challenging and intellectually invigorating。” page 11IdentitySkillIntellectCriticalityLayered Texts“As I conclude， I want to implicitly add on more ‘layer’ that helped to structure the literacy development of early readers and writers。 This is love…。’A generous heart is always open， always ready to r “I discovered that the ways in which literacy was conceptualized and practiced throughout the 19th century among Black populations were more advanced and， compared to how we engage youth today， more challenging and intellectually invigorating。” page 11IdentitySkillIntellectCriticalityLayered Texts“As I conclude， I want to implicitly add on more ‘layer’ that helped to structure the literacy development of early readers and writers。 This is love…。’A generous heart is always open， always ready to receive’”Page 167 。。。more
Helene
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Gholdy Muhammad weaves history and pedagogy into a framework that elevates Black students and benefits all students。 The focus is literacy， but it's relevant to all content areas。 She makes complex ideas accessible and provides clear example of how to implement the them。 Gholdy Muhammad weaves history and pedagogy into a framework that elevates Black students and benefits all students。 The focus is literacy， but it's relevant to all content areas。 She makes complex ideas accessible and provides clear example of how to implement the them。 。。。more
Karly Grice
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One of the most important books on critical， cultural pedagogy I’ve ever read， especially in its relatability and practicality for K12 teachers。
Rachel Hercule
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Slightly more directed toward teachers of younger students， but so much gold to integrate into instruction and shift mindsets toward honoring the genius our students already possess。
Connor
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Not as useful as it tries to be， but still helpful at points
Michele
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If I could make every educator read this I would。 10/10 the best pedagogy text I have read aside from Pedagogy of the Oppressed。 Brilliant and actionable。 I’m extremely excited to introduce it to my school this year！
Shari
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Absolutely essential reading for teachers。
Jonathan Rivera
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This is best book on teaching I've ever read！！ The ideas in this book have me constantly thinking this is why I got into education。 I will be rereading， writing， and recommending this book。 This is best book on teaching I've ever read！！ The ideas in this book have me constantly thinking this is why I got into education。 I will be rereading， writing， and recommending this book。 。。。more
Lalo Lemus
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La neta neta“Our Black students are not failing; it is the systems， instruction， and standards created to monitor， control， and measure a very narrow definition of achievement that are off the mark。”
Heidi
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Great historical perspective along with practical applications for our current classrooms。
Stefanie
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Required reading for educators
Dalisha
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Dr。 Muhammad provides the sociohistorical case for historically responsive teaching。 Then， she provides educators with reflective questions and suggestions for implementation。 As one who has studied culturally responsive pedagogies at the research level since 2013， I highly recommend this book as it stands apart in some ways from other works in the field。
Heidi Maloney
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I read this book slowly over the last few weeks because I wanted to take it in and digest it。 Culturally responsive teaching is a buzzy term right now， but it’s so important。 How many of us feel like school wasn’t important， talk about how we “learned nothing，” or saw it as a nightmare？ Dr。 Muhammad writes， “If students don’t know themselves， others will tell them who they are。” Her book teaches us about Historically Responsive Literacy， which calls for helping our students to discover who they I read this book slowly over the last few weeks because I wanted to take it in and digest it。 Culturally responsive teaching is a buzzy term right now， but it’s so important。 How many of us feel like school wasn’t important， talk about how we “learned nothing，” or saw it as a nightmare？ Dr。 Muhammad writes， “If students don’t know themselves， others will tell them who they are。” Her book teaches us about Historically Responsive Literacy， which calls for helping our students to discover who they are before we jump into the teaching of skills。 HRL also calls our attention to the cultural identities of others， and asks us to roamed into account the social times （historical and current）。 There is so much gold in this book， but the other points I especially loved where the importance of teaching students to think critically， the history of Black Literary Societies， and Critical love。 Where is our concern， compassion， and empathy for our students？ 。。。more
Patricia
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A thorough look at working with Black children including literary history of Black leaders， pedagogy， examples from history， and explanation of HRL Framework layers of Identity， Skills， Intellect， Criticality。 An important text for teachers who wish to go deeper into their understanding of the power of education and the love and dedication necessary to educate。
Stephanie Fujii
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This shouldn't have taken me as long as it did to read， but I just didn't find it super compelling。 I have been able to get some really valuable PD this year， specifically through Zaretta Hammond's work， and this just didn't hold up in comparison to that。 I think that， had I read this one first， I may have found this one more helpful。 My main take aways were to prioritize student identity first， and skills second。 Skills are not the end all of everything - and though this seems obvious， the book This shouldn't have taken me as long as it did to read， but I just didn't find it super compelling。 I have been able to get some really valuable PD this year， specifically through Zaretta Hammond's work， and this just didn't hold up in comparison to that。 I think that， had I read this one first， I may have found this one more helpful。 My main take aways were to prioritize student identity first， and skills second。 Skills are not the end all of everything - and though this seems obvious， the book does a good job of exploring how powerful this move and shift in focus can be。There were a few good nuggets/examples that I highlighted， and a lot of interesting questions to pose both to yourself as an educator， and also to students as a part of helping them explore their identity in order to better understand themselves in relation to the world。 。。。more
Chris Fong
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A great balance of history， theory， and practical ideas。 Drags a little at the end - the last chapter or 2 was repetitive。 But a great read to challenge how we approach literacy in our classrooms: we should choose texts that build skills and knowledge AND help students to both understand their identity and challenge oppressive systems in the world。
Ashley
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This book should be a required read for pre-service and experienced teachers。 It outlines the need to acknowledge race and racial experiences in all academic courses。 While most of this book confirmed my own beliefs and values as a teacher， I was able to better understand the reasoning behind the importance of my beliefs and values。
Casey Dunley
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I would love to see more teachers incorporate these ideas。 I think layering text is a wonderful way to teach and I think learning the backstory about current stories ties kids more in to the learning。
Miranda
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So glad I stuck with this book！ The first chapter was a bit of an academic slog， but I found my stride in chapter 2 and am confident that my ability to teach in relevant and meaningful ways will be enhanced by this book。 I also learned important history about African American literary societies throughout the 19th century that I will be incorporating into my teaching from here on。
Emily Gray
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This book chronicles the history of Black communities and how literacy and education was developed。 She has concrete steps and lenses to use when evaluating lessons to make sure that teachers are not teaching standards， but students。 It was not an earth shattering read for me， but I think that’s because the influence of this book has （thankfully） already spread into my school site and the credential program I graduated from。
Pam
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Muhammad bases her pedagogical approach on the work of Black Literary Societies that existed throughout the 1800s。 At a time when it was actually dangerous for Black people to be literate， they formed groups to read， write， debate and educate themselves。 They also created these societies in order to develop authentic agency and independence among Black people。 Education， agency， independence， pride， determination are all essential components of African American life today， as well。 Muhammad desc Muhammad bases her pedagogical approach on the work of Black Literary Societies that existed throughout the 1800s。 At a time when it was actually dangerous for Black people to be literate， they formed groups to read， write， debate and educate themselves。 They also created these societies in order to develop authentic agency and independence among Black people。 Education， agency， independence， pride， determination are all essential components of African American life today， as well。 Muhammad describes a simple template for all activities/lessons in school today: Identity， Skills， Intellect， Criticality。 She maintains that whenever teachers engage children， these four components have to be included。 Muhammad is somewhat narrowly focused on improving education for “Black and Brown” children， although she mostly discusses how to improve the educational experiences of African American children。 She mentions that this template for learning will serve all children well， but her focus is clearly African American children。 。。。more
John Whaley
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Dr。 Gholdy Muhammad wrote a damn fine book here。 Practical， yet revolutionary - this is not easy to do， especially in the world of K-12 education。 You can read a summary of this teacher-text anywhere， so I’ll just focus on the fact that I’m thrilled a popular book， published and distributed by SCHOLASTIC， engenders and champions a revolutionary transformation of our institution。 Sure， it’s a how and why “literacy” matters for ALL of our students book， but centering her lens on why it’s especiall Dr。 Gholdy Muhammad wrote a damn fine book here。 Practical， yet revolutionary - this is not easy to do， especially in the world of K-12 education。 You can read a summary of this teacher-text anywhere， so I’ll just focus on the fact that I’m thrilled a popular book， published and distributed by SCHOLASTIC， engenders and champions a revolutionary transformation of our institution。 Sure， it’s a how and why “literacy” matters for ALL of our students book， but centering her lens on why it’s especially important to focus on identity， intellectualism， and criticality （and JOY！） in concert with the typical “skills-based” curriculum and instruction focus for the past several generations elicits an implicit （and sometimes explicit） call for “good trouble” to be made by all stakeholders moving forward。 We need a revolution， and this book is its manifesto。 Gholdy reminds us， ad infinitum， that our students—and NOT just our Black and brown students！—are languishing—and not just academically！—because we have decontextualized and commodified their educational endeavors for far too long。 Let’s rejigger our entire curricula and pedagogy—in communion WITH our students and families—with Historically Responsive Literacy philosophies and practices。 Here’s the blueprint。 Follow it。 （You listening， administration and curriculum coordinators？） 。。。more
Matt
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This book is recommended for educators and anyone interested in improving the teaching and learning for all students。 It focuses primarily on students of color， yet the practices implemented well will benefit everyone。 I am glad there is a lot of talk around this resource。 It deserves to be talked about。
Jeanie Phillips
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Podcast conversation about this book: https://tiie。w3。uvm。edu/blog/vted-rea。。。I cannot stop talking about this book！ I cannot stop talking about Gholdy Muhammad！ This book provides a simple but transformative frame for designing instruction: Identity， Skills， Intellect， Criticality， and Joy。 （I needed that word criticality so badly！） And frankly， it is paradigm shifting。 Gholdy Muhammad forced me to reckon with the obvious: introductory educational preparation courses depend almost exclusively o Podcast conversation about this book: https://tiie。w3。uvm。edu/blog/vted-rea。。。I cannot stop talking about this book！ I cannot stop talking about Gholdy Muhammad！ This book provides a simple but transformative frame for designing instruction: Identity， Skills， Intellect， Criticality， and Joy。 （I needed that word criticality so badly！） And frankly， it is paradigm shifting。 Gholdy Muhammad forced me to reckon with the obvious: introductory educational preparation courses depend almost exclusively on the teachings of white men。 Dr。 Muhammad， on the other hand， builds her work on the scholarship of black men and women: Mary McLeod Bethune， Carter G。 Woodson， Anna Julia Cooper， and so many more。 If you design instruction for anyone you should read this book！ 。。。more
Courtney
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