Unearthing Joy in Education - A Conversation with Dr Gholdy Muhammad

Keeping educational experiences alive, responsive and moving with
our young people is a key piece of what the best educators do,
even more impressive as it is often in stark contrast to the
rigid, static institutions in which they live, work and learn.
This week it’s such a pleasure to be talking with Dr Gholdy
Muhammad whose amazing work on Historically Responsive Literacies
supports teachers in creating spaces for mutual empowerment,
confidence, and self-reliance in students. Her elaboration of the
five pursuits of curriculum is a fantastic framework for enabling
young people to both critically and joyfully read the world and
connect with who they are and where they’ve come from.


Dr. Gholnecsar (Gholdy) Muhammad is an Associate Professor of
Literacy, Language, and Culture at University of Illinois Chicago
College of Education. She studies Black historical excellence
within educational communities with goals of reframing curriculum
and instruction today. Gholdy’s scholarship has appeared in
leading academic journals and books. She has also received
numerous national awards and is the author of the best-selling
book, Cultivating Genius: An Equity Model for Culturally and
Historically Responsive Literacy. She is also the co-author
of Black girls’ literacies: An Edited Volume. Gholdy has
previously served as a classroom teacher, literacy specialist,
school district administrator, curriculum director, and school
board president. Her Culturally and Historically Responsive
Education Model has been adopted across thousands of U.S. schools
and districts across Canada. In 2022 and 2023 she was named among
the top 1% Edu-Scholar Public Influencers due to her impact on
policy and practice. She was named the American Educational
Research Association Division K Early Career Award and the 2021
NCTE Outstanding Elementary Educator in the English Language
Arts. She has led a federal grant with the United States
Department of Education to study culturally and historically
responsive literacy in STEM classrooms. Her latest
book, Unearthing Joy: A Guide to Culturally and Historically
Responsive Teaching and Learning, is the sequel
to Cultivating Genius and provides a practical guide
for putting culturally and historically responsive education into
curricular practice. 


More information about Gholdy’s work go to
https://hillpedagogies.com/ 


You can also find her on social media at:


LinkedIn: @dr-gholdy-muhammad -
https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-gholdy-muhammad/


Instagram: @gholdym - https://www.instagram.com/gholdym/