Wednesday, July 26, 2023

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GHOLDY MUHAMMAD Cultivating Genius An Equity Framework for Culturally and Historically Responsive Literacy


“Hope alone is not enough. 

We need to be designers in curriculum, instruction, and leadership to get it right with those who need it the most. 

They depend on us.”  (p.88)



“If we aim to get it right with all youth, 

a productive starting point is to design teaching and learning 

to the group(s) of students who have been marginalized 

the most in society and within schools: 

Thus, we need frameworks that have been written by people of color and designed for children of color. 

Cultivating Genius provides such a framework.” (p. 11)


4 Pursuits: The Historically Responsive Literacy Model (HRL)

Literacy as Identity Meaning-Making

Literacy as Skills

Literacy as Intellect

Literacy as Criticality


As teachers think of these four pursuits in the HRL instruction, they should ask themselves:

Identity: How will my instruction help students to learn something about themselves and/or about others

Sills: How will my instruction build students’ skills for the content area?

Intellect: How will my instruction build students’ knowledge and mental powers?

Critically: How will my instruction engage students’ thinking about power and equity and the disruption of oppression?  (p. 57-58)


“When these four learning pursuits are taught together, the learning becomes humanizing and more complete—giving students opportunities for personal, intellectual, and academic success." (p. 63)