The Kozol article made the Hidden Curriculum idea much clearer for me. I had never thought of the way we are given a watered down version of the actions of our heros like Thoreau, King, and Helen Keller. I never thought that there was a purpose behind filtering their passion. Though no one tells teachers directly, the message is clear: These are exceptional people who did things none of us can or should strive to do. How frightening to think that my role as a teacher could turn into that of a censor.

I think that a teacher has to be a censor sometimes. I could not teach North Carolina History in the eigth grade and show pictures of lynchings. I could not talk about the Vietnam War and show the movie "Platoon" it's too violent and bloody. If you think about it we have always been given a watered down version of the truth, and over the years we are clued in to what really happened. For example, I was taught in the second grade the Columbus discovered America. However, I did not learn that he went to prison and died there until I was in highschool. We learn the sweet happy parts of history at a young age, and then the details are filled in later.