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turquoiseshell's review against another edition
5.0
Amazing, accessible, interesting, actionable, thought-provoking book that is a must-read for educators everywhere
jaelyn7's review against another edition
3.0
I finally got around to sitting down and reading through all of Cultivating Genuis, after learning about Historically Responsive Literacy (HRL) at a PD. It's a quick read, but the book itself was not as impactful as the ideas or hearing a talk by Dr. Muhammad. I will also say from a teacher's perspective, this book is not immediately helpful unless you are very new to this work. I agree that to start implementing HRL in your classroom, you need to do the work internally first, and there are guiding questions at the end of each chapter to help you. Aside from that, I was missing a wide variety of lesson plans and advice on how to successfully implement HRL. In addition, one of the barriers of this work is that people are resistant. At least in this book, HRL is not supported by student anecdotes or any type of data, aside from it being successful in Black literary societies. The book is theory heavy, which is harder for me to connect back to practical application. I would say this is more a book in defense of changing how we think as opposed to a book for teachers on how to implement the framework. I would love to see Dr. Muhammad produce a book or resources that are more teacher-friendly, with full lesson plans as well as best practices when implementing these lessons across all grade levels.
chloekg's review against another edition
4.0
Overall, I'm jazzed about this book and its lens for the classroom. Simple but shocking is the idea, "Who do you become when you can rely on the power of the word?" Malcolm X was a powerful man, but not because of his ideas. Many folks hold the same ideas. Malcolm was a powerful man for his ideas and his capacity to speak the power of those ideas. Dr. Muhammad's framework asks us to teach skills, but mostly to teach children. Argumentation is a good skill. Yes. Criticality is a good skill. Yes. Basic fluency and word recognition are good skills. Yes. But why? These literary skills are not practiced for mastery or test scores, but so young people can see themselves with love and the world with criticality. It is a goal that speaks to my inner teen, and one that humanizes the classroom.
But, as always in education theory, how do we get there from here?
The two major problems were lack of concrete steps for implementing the ideas and "what about the standards?" There is an okay set of questions for finding good texts (if they are out there/affordable).
There are no guides for how to create the group literary practice. "Teach them to be critical" is easier said than done. There are no recommendations for how to teach rhetoric, debate, close reading, and researching/analyzing context.
Even if I succeed in those aims, a flourishing criticality might detract from "remembering and manipulating specific vocabulary words that are not relevant to you life but will be on a state exam."
My students already know that the system does not want powerful, brilliant "historically disenfranchised" youth to demand their due rights. As such, Cultivating Genius is a difficult text to implement in a data-obsessed world. She asks us to teach beyond the sanctioned norms. She asks administrators to question their "support for equity" while still demanding test scores take priority. The bureaucracy is stacked against our young people.
That observation brings the most compelling takeaway. This book is almost more history than education. It help me see a larger sense of history, and yes, standardized exams are a new Jim Crow. I am encouraged and emboldened by this book to try something different, something that might actually help my students. It's going to take time, but I think it will be fun. As a text, the publishers probably added more than necessary and made it repetitive, but it's slim enough to be good and well interspersed with quotes, context, and images of our recent history.
But, as always in education theory, how do we get there from here?
The two major problems were lack of concrete steps for implementing the ideas and "what about the standards?" There is an okay set of questions for finding good texts (if they are out there/affordable).
There are no guides for how to create the group literary practice. "Teach them to be critical" is easier said than done. There are no recommendations for how to teach rhetoric, debate, close reading, and researching/analyzing context.
Even if I succeed in those aims, a flourishing criticality might detract from "remembering and manipulating specific vocabulary words that are not relevant to you life but will be on a state exam."
My students already know that the system does not want powerful, brilliant "historically disenfranchised" youth to demand their due rights. As such, Cultivating Genius is a difficult text to implement in a data-obsessed world. She asks us to teach beyond the sanctioned norms. She asks administrators to question their "support for equity" while still demanding test scores take priority. The bureaucracy is stacked against our young people.
That observation brings the most compelling takeaway. This book is almost more history than education. It help me see a larger sense of history, and yes, standardized exams are a new Jim Crow. I am encouraged and emboldened by this book to try something different, something that might actually help my students. It's going to take time, but I think it will be fun. As a text, the publishers probably added more than necessary and made it repetitive, but it's slim enough to be good and well interspersed with quotes, context, and images of our recent history.
rerudis's review against another edition
challenging
informative
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
5.0
beccalove's review against another edition
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
kingtchalla83's review against another edition
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
c_sandman's review against another edition
5.0
This is a highly important text for educators at any level to read (from pre-service teachers to administrators)! I found the research on the Black literary societies to be most eye-opening — start the story with Black excellence and remove the deficit view of Black students. Provides critical questions for inquiry on curriculum & practices, as well as useful lesson planning ideas & documents.
claytell's review against another edition
4.0
A professional read, with some eexcellent insights on how to interrupt previous practice and build antioppressive practices in the lesson planning.
Lots of very specific American historical content, which is excellent for that audience, but not so great for my professional context.
Lots of very specific American historical content, which is excellent for that audience, but not so great for my professional context.