What is a Conscious Pedagogue?

I never was a fan of the phrase “woke,” the term is cute but trendy, and my students consistently used the word without processing what “wokeness” represents to those actively combatting against systemic abuses. It was annoying observing my students refer to themselves as woke and observe teachers who did not support Black Lives Matter, wear “woke” labeled t-shirts as an attempt to bond with their students (their plans backfired tremendously). When I questioned my students to define what it means to be “woke,” they could never provide an answer, or I would get the usual “I don’t know, miss, let me rock.”

In my first school, my friends and I created a Black Student Union club. We had a decent number of registrants, especially after we promised pizza every session. The discussions in BSU ranged from light conversations to philosophical discourse. One meeting that was the most memorable was our conversation on what does wokeness mean? The students explained that wokeness means fighting against systems and discussing with others about injustices that permeate our society. When it was my turn, I explained how wokeness is a lifestyle and not a badge or costume only used in response to a viral video on social media. If a person is “woke,” their awareness of social and racial injustice is heightened and sensitive to the injustices in our everyday lives.

In short, a conscious pedagogue is an educator who uses their classroom to teach their students about the social, economic, and political injustices within our society. The instruction provided by a CP should make a student proficient in identifying injustice. Skillwise, students should be equipt with the tools necessary to dismantle unjust systems.