Pressure to read between the lines of how to participate in college and graduate classrooms can be stressful and confusing. Some students seem to just magically know this stuff. Maybe they have prior experience, maybe they are experts of social cues, or maybe they’re also confused and managing to hide it.
Many students don’t walk into a classroom having osmosed this information elsewhere, and quite reasonably so. Other students think they know the “rules” but could use some validation. If you’re one of these students who didn’t start school with some or all of this information, you’re not alone. You’re actually in the majority. These rules are academia’s Hidden Curriculum, for which there is not only a catchy term but also abundant scholarship in sociology, psychology, and education, among others.
If you’re one of those lucky students who did already learn these rules (or figured them out the hard way), it’s worth recognizing that they aren’t obvious to everyone. Consider using your wisdom to help create a welcoming environment for all.
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Disclaimer
One of the most challenging aspects of the Hidden Curriculum is that it is unstandardized by its very nature. I am just one single professor at one single institution, and my understanding of how this all works is not identical to that of even my closest colleagues. This tangle of fake rules will vary from country to country, school to school, department to department, professor to professor, and even class to class. If you aren’t sure whether to trust my answers, I hope you can at least take this point:
These are all extremely reasonable questions to have. You are allowed to ask your professors, advisors, and peers about these kinds of topics.
The more we talk about the hidden curriculum, the more we bring it out of hiding.
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