How do you recognize an effective teacher's sociocultural consciousness? Tamara Wallace's and Brenda Brand's argument that sociocultural consciousness is the "brain" of effective culturally responsive instruction for students of color comes at a time when the system of teacher evaluation is being overhauled nationwide. Teacher observation tools are being piloted to develop a common language of effective instruction but often there is little attention given to sociocultural consciousness in these frameworks. This article develops a culturally responsive counter-narrative to explore the complexity of a teacher's racial consciousness during a teaching episode.