ABSTRACT
The hidden curriculum denigrates the importance of teaching, yet an antidote is easy to suggest. The difficulty, however, is finding faculty who care enough to provide it. The crucial step is requiring that all graduate students seeking a faculty position participate in a departmental colloquium that prepares them for offering effective instruction to undergraduates. At first, most of the participants were nervous as they stood before the audience. But whereas most instructors who communicate inadequately are never called to account, in this case weak presentations brought forth a series of constructive suggestions. Students whose presentations showed marked improvement received generous plaudits from the others, and the developing esprit de corps encouraged all to try to enhance their performance. Aspiring college teachers who took such a course would never again suppose that teaching is easy, and their efforts to master essential pedagogic techniques would result in more effective instruction.
