What is meant by curriculum?

The author mentions that what schools teach is largely unintentional. I only carried negative perspectives on the hidden curriculum. I first thought about whether the hidden curriculum was also unintended by teachers. Teachers tend to teach based on their experiences as a student, thus their learning experience from society is a natural process. Hence, teachers tend to teach implicitly with values that are closely aligned with societal norms. If our values are aligned with societal norms, then there will be exclusion and a lack of diversity in the classroom because we are not considering our diverse learners. Nevertheless, as I read through the article, it mentioned another aspect of the implicit curriculum that I had not thought of; the implicit curriculum does not entirely have a negative impact. The reasons were that the school "can teach a host of intellectual and social virtues: punctuality, a willingness to work hard on tasks that are not immediately enjoyable, and the ability to defer immediate gratification" (Eisner). Ultimately, we need to be aware of the hidden aspects of education because it has a significant impact on students' development including academically, socially, and emotionally. It was interesting to learn that "what they teach may be among the most important lessons a child learns" (Eisner). Hence, educators must intentionally create a positive school environment because what we teach should focus on the student's development as an individual.

The BC Provincial Curriculum focuses on three big competencies including communication, thinking, and personal and social. I believe that the three competencies focus on students as an individual and provides them the need to thrive as members of their community and society. Likewise, Eisner highlights that the explicit curriculum is not all for students' learning. The BC curriculum allows students to acquire certain skills that will help them even in personal, social, educational, and workplace contexts. Hence, this is closely aligned with Eisner's ideas of the implicit curriculum.