THE HIDDEN CURRICULUM

What Do We Teach In Our Schools.

Last week on Wednesday we had a Wacky Hair Day. It was great—kids and teachers all decorated with wild and creative fanciful hair styles and adornments. We had a display and parade around the tennis court, and Bevan thanked us all for participating and for the $300 raised to go towards Hugh Campbell’s trust fund.
So why have such events at school—where does it fit into the curriculum? There is no formal planning, no success criteria laid out to guide student learning, no goals to be achieved, and no test at the end of it.
And yet I see a whole lot of learning taking place—and a ready example of the “hidden curriculum”.
The hidden curriculum refers to the things we teach that are outside of the range of the curriculum documents and statements. It includes the things that are not explicitly taught but are implied and exhibited in what we do. It includes the values and attitudes that are intrinsic to our behaviours.
Here are just some of the hidden messages I see from last Wednesday’s Wacky Hair Day.

School and education is a social enterprise— involving community, social negotiation, collaboration, compromise, and sharing.

The world is not about me—I am not the centre of the universe. When something happens there are things we can do as a community to protect, care for and support each other. In fact it may be viewed as a community responsibility. We can build “community”.

We are a school “family” —we care about each other and the difficulties that happen others in our wider school “family”.

We can be different and creative—not carbon copies.
We can explore fanciful and way out ideas in a safe context without fear of ridicule or being laughed at.

We can be resourceful and use what resources are available in our environment. (Some children didn’t have any alternative head gear when they arrived. We raided the vegetation from several gardens and after some collaborative activity those who wanted could wear their very own ivy crowns.)

And finally, SCHOOL CAN BE FUN!

These are all valuable lessons that made the activity of great value to our school.

There are also wider implications which are beyond the scope of this week’s newsletter comment—Given the power of the hidden curriculum, there is a personal, professional and community responsibility for teachers to act ethically. As teachers we do have a code of ethics.

Think spot:
The hidden curriculum is not just for teachers to consider. It also has implications for us as parents and families. What is the hidden curriculum you “teach” in your home? (You are welcome to provide your ideas on the Rm4 Blog.)


Have a great week,

Peter Corlett