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The Unscripted Curriculum

Article authored by: Chinar Banga

Head Senior Years, Shiv Nadar School Faridabad

Schools are synonymous to learning. Books, curriculum, assessments, lesson plans, report cards will automatically cloud your thoughts when you think of school. We often assume that the scripted curriculum of the school or what the board prescribes will lead to students’ progress. In middle and high school particularly, you will notice a sudden shift in parent and teacher mindset where they would only want to work towards a target score. However, what we often forget is a powerful force that often shapes student behaviour, beliefs, attitude and values. It is the unscripted curriculum that has a significant role in their development. It has, in fact, more impact than calculus, history, force or other concepts they learn in school. What defines this unscripted curriculum, is how the adults around these students conduct themselves in the school environment. Philip Jackson in his book, ‘Life in Classrooms’ referred to conscious and unconscious norms, values and behaviours of the learning process, including unplanned and unintended learning outcomes that influence students. It is not necessary that only the teachers are being noticed. 

The leaders, administrative staff and even the support staff behavior also doesn’t escape their watchful eyes. They internalise lessons from every interaction they witness in corridors, cafeterias, assembly halls and other spaces. Albert Bandura, in his Social Learning Theory, emphasizes the importance of observing, modeling and imitating the behaviors, attitudes and emotional reactions of others. This becomes even more profound in higher grades. Adolescents in middle and senior school have heightened social awareness and are in their identity formation phase. As a result, what they see around them becomes a reference point on how they will react to different situations and relate to the world around them. A high school student who is testing boundaries and is moving away from authority will have a sharp antenna for detecting hypocrisy. If what is being preached, is not modelled, they will rebel. For example, a school poster or policy may display the value of kindness, however, if the teacher behaviour is otherwise, the trust of the child in the system shakes. When students see teachers conducting themselves with professionalism and mutual respect, they will mirror it. When they see that the school culture is of celebrating each others’ success, respecting support staff, leaders taking and valuing feedback and agency, the ripple effect will be visible. 

On the contrary, gossip, envy, passive aggressive behavior will lead to more effort on teachers’ part in setting classroom expectations and managing the behavior for learning. It is therefore, every adult’s responsibility, to model behaviors that they would want their students to imbibe. School culture is driven by the choices the adults make when no one is watching. But the irony is that students are always watching! When students see people around them owning up mistakes, apologising to a fellow colleague, greeting support staff cordially, appreciating diverse perspectives, working in teams, they will organically develop the values of accountability, teamwork, respect and compassion. Since the interactions are not limited to the physical space and extend to the virtual world as well, teachers need to display explicitly respectful online interactions to expect the same from their students in the digital world. The good thing is that evolving this unscripted curriculum is not something impossible. Every school needs to have a systemic approach to develop these values and soft skills over a period of time. 

Schools that recognise the value of this unscripted curriculum will equip their children with an ethical compass that will guide them home. Teacher professional development sessions, admin and support staff briefing sessions, leadership workshops should have a special mention of the acceptable behaviours around students. Investment in socio-emotional learning of school teachers sees its students developing maturity and empathy. It is also very important to note that the way we assign consequences to the students is also something to look at. Punitive actions may lead the students to believe that mistakes are shameful. However, a consequence rooted in responsibility and reform will make a difference. When students walk out of school, they will carry with them the lessons of the curriculum which are delivered by gestures, daily choices, routines and rapport of the adults around them in school. The students’ skills to adapt and thrive in a new college environment, being resilient to challenges in a workplace or their conduct in a social gathering will be a reflection of what the have seen through their formative years. 

As adults around children, we need to be conscious of what we bring to table everyday and the example we are setting for them. To develop ethical, happy and purposeful citizens of the society, the adults around them need to be emotionally intelligent and reflective in nature. Let’s not forget that the students are learning the scripted and the unscripted curriculum everyday!