ABSTRACT
A major role of schools is to socialize students and make them “good citizens.” In other words, intentional or not, schools inculcate certain values. As mentioned in earlier chapters, courts have recognized that schools represent a “marketplace of ideas” (Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District, 1969, p. 512). This concept implies that students should be encouraged to think for themselves through a wide exposure to various ideas and philosophies. On the other hand, the curriculum as such is not only what is taught in schools. As Arons and Lawrence note in their seminal article on this topic:
Accordingly, students learn lessons by observing how they and others are treated. The cases included in this chapter vividly illustrate this concept and the points that Arons and Lawrence make and, in turn, raise important ethical questions as to the inculcating of beliefs on young minds, which beliefs should be imparted, how this should be done, and who determines these beliefs. Thus, this chapter looks at the curriculum in the broadest sense of
that word, including what Arons and Lawrence characterize as the “hidden curriculum” (Arons & Lawrence, 1980, p. 310).
