Children learn so much more in school beyond the printed curriculum. Lessons about race, gender, age, appearance, nationality, et cetera, are being effortlessly related. In fact, scholars have been studying this ‘hidden curriculum' for years (Anyon, 1980). While the scope of this curriculum is beyond this paper, it is a worthy and weighty investigation. In its stead, I will revisit a personal experience with race and gender in the hidden curriculum, and then review it through the lens of racial theory.
[...] In our physics classroom it appeared that the social contract elements, such as normative spaces and subpersonhood, had overwritten accepted rule of the social normatives. The Racial Contract has to be enforced through violence and ideological conditioning. On a micro-level, my classroom experiences with Jason were a perfect illustration of this thesis. Being in a relatively progressive college town, it was the community spirit that race did not matter. However, given the circumstances, when involved with such a confrontation, race was definitely a consideration. [...]
[...] The ultimate triumph of this education is that it eventually becomes possible to characterize the Racial Contract as ‘consensual' and ‘voluntaristic' even for nonwhites” (Mills p. 89). At some point in time, someone must have suggested that I was being overly sensitive. At some point, I had trained myself not to speak up, and this was surely not something I learned at home. The Racial Contract has always been recognized by nonwhites as the real moral/political agreement to be challenged. [...]
[...] I also note that while some of my reasons for not taking further actions was based on past experiences, it seems that the majority of my reasons were based on assumptions I had that peers and teacher all prescribed to some version of this contract. References Anyon, J. (1980, February). Social class and the hidden curriculum of work. Journal of Education, 162(1), pp. 67-93. Mills, C.W. (1997). The racial contract. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press. Omi, M. & Winant, H. [...]
[...] I recall having a great consciousness about that environment; I wondered what expectations (or lack thereof) my peers and my instructor had of me, especially as a black female. As previously mentioned, these encounters with Jason were numerous. I remember the end of one encounter quite distinctly. As we were seated at our tables, Jason made some antagonizing remark and I cautiously struck him on the shoulder (as he had done to me several times, sans caution). In response, he struck me with much greater force and a notable tone of offense. [...]
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