ositive aspects of the curriculum and integrating the RWRCOEL Professional Dispositions in my conduct, using the curriculum.
The hidden curriculum is defined as the informal, unwritten and inadvertent perspectives, lessons and values that students acquire from their schools. While the official curriculum has learning activities; lessons; courses; knowledge and skills the educators pass to the learners, the hidden curriculum is made up of cultural, social and the implicit academic messages that are communicated to students at school (Wren, 2016). The concept of the hidden curriculum is based on the notion that students learn particular knowledge in school that may or may not be an aspect of the official course of their studies. This curriculum is not new in my classroom; I have witnessed both the positive and negative impacts of the curriculum. With proper actions, nonetheless, I will be successful in addressing the adverse effects; strengthening the positive effects; integrating more positive aspects of the curriculum and integrating the RWRCOEL Professional Dispositions in my conduct, using the curriculum.
The hiddenThe hidden curriculum is, therefore, a collateral impact that is learnt in the course of the formal system of education. It comes with such skills as the transmission of beliefs, values and norms in the context of a classroom and the social environment. Thus, the curriculum informs all the other aspects of human life, besides academic intelligence (Henson, 2015). Consequently, the most crucial point to note about this curriculum is that it is never planned but comes as a result of the platform created in a school format by the need to gain the academic skills that follow structured principles.
Various practices in my classroom contribute to the subtle development of the hidden curriculum. An example of such a practice is when I recognize the fact that students have different capacities when it comes to academics. Following the example by the Laureate Education (2016b), I treat students according to their differences: the fast, the average and slow learners. Thus, my lessons are structured in a manner that ensures students from these learning levels are addressed differently through the use of a range of groups. I know the slow and average students in my class and treat them differently from the fast learners.
As a result, I give most of my time to the slow learners and the least to the fast learners. This action does not, however, mean that I do not care about fast learners. I give them the time that they need but to a lesser extent compared to the other groups of learners. These groups ensure that the learners enjoy being different and make it clear that it is not wrong to be an average or slow learner. As an aspect of the hidden curriculum, the students learn how best to related to each other despite their academic differences (Hafferty, 2018).
With this aspect, I would introduce the use of literary works to pass information regarding the immediate society of the students. For example, when I want the students to learn the importance of unity, I would help analyze the theme and essence of unity in a book. The students thus indirectly learns the significance of unity and apply that in their classroom and social context (Wren, 2016). The use of these literary examples will assist the students in appreciating the lesson and also be equipped with the skills required in dealing with real-time issues that are similar to those addressed in the books.
However, the hidden curriculum in my class also has a negative connotation. For example, embracing diversity entails having students from various racial, ethnic and economic backgrounds in the same classroom. While it discourages discrimination based on these aspects, the students indirectly learn that they are different from each other from an early age. Therefore, encouraging students to remain in unity despite their differences also makes them starting perceiving each other as strangers. Resultantly, this learning practice creates a scenario of inequality among students (Hafferty, 2018). It becomes counterproductive since students indirectly learn that they can never be the same, even when they are taught they are similar in the context of their academics.
I will address this challenge by involving the students’ parents. I will hold monthly meetings with them and suggest that only the English language should be used. When a common language and accent is used, the issue of inequality is progressively mitigated. Again, in the meetings, parents will be encouraged to interact freely with each other, so that an indirect message of the importance of diversity is passed to students. This action is effective, as would be confirmed by Wren (2016), when parents are involved in the teaching/learning process of the students, the learners value education and change their overall attitude towards teachers and peers.
The importance of the hidden curriculum cannot be overemphasized especially when it comes to meeting the different needs of the students. The formal curriculum only meets the academic needs of the students. They, however, have other needs that should be addressed as well. In a move to meet their needs, I will ensure that I respond to them by being their role model. With the social need, for example, I will showcase the skills needed to enhance effective social relationships and use them when relating with the students. I will utilize the applicable aspects of RWRCOEL Professional Dispositions: punctuality; proper grooming; collaboration and adequate communication, and pass them to students by making them part of my conduct. The students will indirectly learn these critical aspects as I teach other subjects.