An Offer of Bearing and Baring Witness as Pedagogy

Abstract

Despite developing curriculum for a youth organization with which I have a long history, it was not until a 7-hour videocall that it occurred to me that “witnessing” might be part of its pedagogy. Something important about bearing witness to the members and their baring witness (confessing their thoughts to us), seemed to be afoot, and I wanted to contemplate with staff what intentional witnessing asks of and offers youth and facilitators. What tools and techniques are being employed? What can we learn from witnessing as pedagogy about nurturing the educational excellence of BIPOC and LGBTQ youth in an out-of-school space? This article lifts up ideas about witnessing as pedagogy explored during gatherings with Black and Latinx women staff working directly with youth through theorizing bearing/baring witness and by describing how educational excellence is cultivated by the organization.