Students have to learn Reading, Writing, Math, Social Studies, Science... and so on.
But all of us also have to learn what is NOT TAUGHT in school, namely the social skills that get us through all the situations we face every day.
Some experts call this the HIDDEN CURRICULUM. When they say 'hidden' they mean that people believe everyone should somehow "just know" these skills and so they don't need to be taught; but also they mean that some students find these rules difficult to figure out and they feel something is 'hidden' from them that others understand.
To learn this Hidden Curriculum we have to make explicit the things that are taken for granted. We have to rehearse what to say and do when the proper situation arises. And we have to study examples of good and bad social skills, so we can understand what is expected of us and what is disapproved of.
Here's a quiz question for you:
Which of the following can we use to give people clues about how we want them to act toward us:
a)facial expresssion
b)manner of walking
c)things we say to them
d)manner of dressing
e)all of the above
Correct answer - "e", all of the above. Hope you got it right!
