Education

New Scholastic Professional Title Unearths the Importance of Genius and Joy in Schools

Langley Leverett  //  Jan 12, 2023

New Scholastic Professional Title Unearths the Importance of Genius and Joy in Schools

Scholastic is proud to announce the release of Unearthing Joy, Dr. Gholnecsar (Gholdy) Muhammad’s highly anticipated sequel to Cultivating Genius, which builds on her groundbreaking framework for culturally and historically responsive instruction.

"Joy is the ultimate goal of teaching and learning, not test prep or graduation. Before writing Cultivating Genius, I assumed all educators were building up to joy in their practices," Dr. Muhammad writes. "In 2020, in the midst of a global pandemic and racial uprising, and the failure by many leaders to recognize the strength and pain of teachers and children, I realized that we needed joy more than ever."

Dr. Muhammad shows how joy, which is rooted in cultural and historical realities, can enhance our efforts to cultivate identity, skills, intellect, and criticality for all students, giving them a powerful purpose to learn and contribute to the world.

Within the book, her wise implementation advice is paired with model lessons that span subjects and grade levels. Educators will find this an incredible guide to culturally and historically responsive teaching and learning that highlights the need to celebrate examples of genius, justice, and joy.

To learn more about Unearthing Joy click here. Also, be sure to follow the author @GholdyM and Scholastic Education Solutions on Twitter at @ScholasticEd!

About the author

Gholdy Muhammad is a Professor of Curriculum & Instruction with a focus on literacy, language, and culture. She has served as a classroom teacher, literacy specialist, school district administrator, curriculum director, and school board president. She studies Black historical excellence in education, with the goal of reframing curriculum and instruction today, and has received numerous honors and awards for that work. Dr. Muhammad’s scholarship has appeared in leading academic journals and books. Her HILL Model has been adopted in thousands of schools and districts.