When you look in the mirror that ‘woke’ shows us, what do you see? Do you get annoyed by know-it-all activists who impose their worldview on you or do you think they are right? An essay about why social workers should or shouldn’t be called social ‘wokers’.

Within International Social Work (ISW), being ‘woke’ is an important subject. I recently encountered it, when a student asked me to use the word ’they’ instead of ‘he/she’. I agreed, but when I made a mistake soon after, I got reprimanded. Ouch!

Mixed feelings
Some teachers and students I spoke with while writing this essay, feel discomfort or find it hard to adjust to changes students propose, while others applaud it. In short, there are mixed feelings when we look in the mirror that woke holds in front of us.

My thesis is that a good social worker is ‘woke’. By woke I mean the broad meaning that the term now has. Not only being alert to racism, but also learning about sexism, body shaming, and for example transphobia. Social Work students and teachers should be aware of all kinds of oppression and inequality.

False contradiction
Dilan Yeşilgöz, Minister of Justice and Security, recently claimed in a lecture that at the moment, there are 2 threats to (our) democracy. Right-wing extremism and Wokism. About the latest movement, she said: “They determine who has the right to speak based on your origin, your gender, your orientation, and that includes a certain opinion. If you do not express it, you will be canceled.“

In my view, she creates a false contradiction. In its annual report for 2022, our security service the AIVD, warns against right-wing extremism and not being woke. Or as Arjen Lubach put it a bit bluntly; you compare 2 things I hate: suffering from chip crumbs in your bed with Adolf Hitler. But that doesn’t still answer the question: why is being woke so important?

No awareness
First, many of our ISW students are experienced experts when it comes to woke. I spoke with Luthiën, an ISW student. “Originally, I lived in Curaçao but immigrated to Illinois, USA. I went to school there, but because of being black, Queer, and an immigrant, I was not seen and treated as a person. Here in Holland, it’s a bit better but I still deal with some of the same issues as I did in the States. But it’s not only a personal problem. You have to take a look at the whole system. Some people are not aware of the white privilege they have. They don’t see how the society is designed for white people.”

Be an activist
Being critical, being awake and alert, and combating social inequality is important for social workers, says ISW lecturer Paola. In working with older people, racism is also a theme she notices. “I don’t want to be helped by a black person.” What does that do to healthcare staff? She likes to ask: “To what extent should a social worker be an activist?”

But there are also counter-sounds. Another ISW student Dante tells me: “Some students in my class are saying that they can’t work with people that don’t accept immigrants. That is a problem. I think it interferes with your professionality. How can you as a student help people if you judge them? People in certain neighborhoods who don’t accept immigrants can also have other issues like poverty, work or housing problems.”

Create a safe place
According to Paola, it doesn’t have to be a problem. “The fact that students may sometimes overshoot is part of their learning process. Some people are furious cause of certain negative experiences. Often rightly so.”

Another argument for being careful with woke in the classroom is the danger of ‘canceling’. How great is that danger? Dante has experienced that a student with a somewhat right-wing opinion was ignored. “And sometimes there are people who hold back and don’t dare to say anything.” But shouldn’t we expect students to dare to confront each other? Democracy is not suitable for the frightened. It is up to the teacher to create a safe space in which all perspectives are heard.

Ask questions
In this sense, it is very woke to mainly listen, have an open mind, be curious, and ultimately look for nuance. Perhaps the greatest danger is not woke as the minister suggested but ‘thoughtlessness’ as philosopher Hannah Arendt claimed. Thoughtlessness is uncritically accepting what the group, or society, presents to us. Or, using the words of Luthiën: “I think it’s important that white people and teachers educate themselves. People are tired of telling the same story over and over again. Tired to explain themselves. Ask yourself questions. Don’t judge things that you don’t understand. Open your mind. Look in the mirror. And of course, everybody has to do.”