The Hidden Cirriculum | Emma Peter | TEDxBISM Youth

Quick Overview

The speaker argues that the "hidden curriculum" in schools, which includes unwritten rules and social expectations learned outside of textbooks, significantly shapes students' lives by teaching them about success, dealing with failure, social skills, and implicit biases regarding who deserves attention, ultimately impacting their future interactions and self-perception.

Key Points: The hidden curriculum, unlike direct instruction in subjects like math or English, teaches students valuable life skills such as teamwork, responsibility, and social navigation. The speaker vividly recalls being assigned to read about Rosa Parks, who was arrested for refusing to give up her seat to a white person in 1955 Montgomery, Alabama, as an example of unwritten rules. The hidden curriculum can negatively impact students by fostering unhealthy competition, teaching that failure is unacceptable, and promoting ideas that some people are more worthy of attention than others. The speaker notes that not all students learn these implicit lessons (like handling stress or fitting in) in the same way or at the same pace. The speaker personally struggled with poor social skills and making friends due to the lessons learned from the hidden curriculum. The speaker urges listeners to be critical thinkers, have discussions with teachers about the purpose of assignments, and recognize the impact of the hidden curriculum on their lives and the lives of others.

Context: This TEDx talk, presented by Emma Peter at TEDxBISM Youth, centers on the concept of the 'hidden curriculum'—the unstated norms, values, and beliefs transmitted in a school setting through things like expectations, social interactions, and implicit biases, rather than through formal lesson plans.

Detailed Analysis

Emma Peter delivers a talk arguing that the hidden curriculum—the unwritten lessons absorbed in school—is profoundly influential, often more so than formal education. She begins by asking the audience to imagine a house with a triangular roof, referencing the iconic image of the Peppa Pig house as an example that stuck with her, symbolizing the simple, shared mental models we form. She then transitions to the hidden curriculum's real-world impact, citing the story of Rosa Parks refusing to give up her seat on the Montgomery bus in 1955, an act that directly challenged the unwritten rules of segregation. Peter reveals that she surveyed students who admitted the hidden curriculum taught them vital skills like teamwork and handling failure, but also reinforced unhealthy competition and the idea that some people are inherently more worthy of attention based on conformity. She personally struggled because the hidden curriculum negatively affected her social skills. She emphasizes that these lessons can be different for everyone and that being critical and engaging in dialogue with educators about assignment purpose is necessary to ensure the hidden curriculum promotes positive values rather than internalizing harmful standards or creating unfair hierarchies.