EP342 The hidden curriculum: getting real about the values we teach

Each time we decide which history gets a full unit and which gets a mini-lesson… Each time we choose whose stories to showcase in classroom libraries while others gather dust on shelves … Each time we select which family structures and cultures to represent in class and which we quietly pretend don't exist … We're teaching whose voices matter, what counts as normal, and how power works. That's the hidden curriculum. And it's been operating in classrooms since the first schools were founded. This episode is about uncovering the hidden curriculum in your own teaching, so you can make conscious choices about the values you're reinforcing. And, it's about empowering public schools to be unapologetic in their stance about a core piece of the hidden curriculum that should be underlying our work: Every child who walks into our classrooms deserves to see themselves reflected there, to have their existence treated as welcome, and to leave knowing their life has inherent value.  This episode is a call to remain steadfast in your commitment to care for (and be actively inclusive of) all families in your school community. We need to proudly own our commitment to teaching kids empathy, curiosity, and the ability to understand–and collaborate with–people who are different from them. This episode is a rebuke of a coordinated attempt to paint these values as controversial, "political" or "a radical left wing agenda." They are not.  They are educational best practices, backed by long-standing research, that teachers have implemented for decades in schools across the country. It's time to stop playing defense and speak plainly about how we do what's best for kids. Get the shareable article/transcript for this episode here.