Schools can’t tackle ‘wokeness’ jibes by dismissing them

'Wokeness' is used to dismiss important work done in schools, but understanding its sources is the only way to truly accomplish that work, says Bilkis Miah

To see how conversations on ‘wokeness’ have permeated the education sector, you only have to listen to Robert Halfon, the former chair of the education select committee, who recently condemned the use of the term ‘white privilege’. Halfon claimed – and this much we can agree on – that there is an “opposite reality [to privilege] for the white working class across society”.

But pitting one group against another doesn’t offer any meaningful insights. Avoiding the use of terms like ‘white privilege’ won’t answer why so many white working-class children are failing. It’s a systemic problem fuelled by under-funded schools, economic inequality and a lack of opportunities for social mobility.

Understanding communities

Rather than stoking class or culture wars, our duty is to help future generations overcome these deep-seated divides. To that end, it’s important to listen to our whole school communities, including teachers, parents and children themselves. We need to understand the context that is breeding such inequalities, and let communities know their voices are being heard.

Creating change can’t be up to teachers alone; it depends on the whole community beyond the school gates, and there are nuances to navigate. For example, Tower Hamlets has a majority British-Bangladeshi and white working-class population. Living in intergenerational homes and having parents with little or no formal education are real issues for our children. When You Be You asked parents what they were worried about, there was a common theme: losing their children to a world they didn’t understand.

Our interventions therefore had to impact on their beliefs and dismantle their understanding about ‘woke’ issues. We saw an opportunity to promote awareness – to help everyone understand what we mean by diversity and inclusion and share tools to negotiate these in their lives. The result is our home activity kits, which encourage families and children to think and learn about themselves and their world through fun, paper-based activities (side-stepping the very real obstacle of digital poverty and keeping the focus on quality bonding time away from screens).

Real-world wokeness

Last year, we saw St Paul’s Girls School rename their ‘head girl’ position to ‘head of school’. This may seem like a superficial change, but the reasons behind it are key. And no, this isn’t ‘political correctness gone mad’.

It’s really important that we don’t define our pupils by gender, race, religion, sexuality, class or ability. All the stereotypes that come with these narrow categorisations have wider societal implications. By changing the title from ‘head girl’ to ‘head of school’, staff are saying to their pupils: “We recognise you, and you can achieve anything regardless of your gender”. It’s not boxing girls into certain roles, or qualifying success with terms like ‘girl boss’; You’re a boss, period.

This is crucial in creating a healthy, diverse workforce and society for the future. In our pilot project, we heard comments from children such as “Boys will have more important jobs as they have bigger brains”. Statements like these may seem inane, but it’s essential to dismantle them as soon as they’re noticed to ensure they don’t entrench further.

‘Woke’ has become a catch-all for a large number of people’s concerns about deep societal change.  But deep societal change is necessary and inevitable. The more we avoid this, the more we create conflict within our communities.

Instead, we must take families on the journey with us. It never ceases to amaze me how many schools don’t ask parents the tough questions: ‘What worries you?’, ‘What are your main concerns around teaching about stereotypes?’. Doing so lets families feel heard. But more than that, it ensures teachers and school leaders understand their concerns and can create opportunities to allay some of their fears.

The alternative is to trap children between our work in class and its dismissal as ‘wokeness’ at home. Or worse still, to give up on education’s potential to change the world for the better.