Character is Destiny: Time to Institutionalize the Hidden Curriculum

It's the Greek philosopher Heraclitus who posited that character is destiny and that means, we do not have a predetermined destiny like many people think or assume, but rather, must put in the hard work and find ways to make our destiny the kind that we desire. As human beings, we have all the raw materials necessary at our disposal, and with the help of God, have the capacity to shape our destiny through the habits and actions that we exhibit on a daily basis. By character in this case, I mean the moral quality associated with us, as individual human beings. No two individuals can have the same character or destiny since our personalities and the moral qualities we exhibit are not only distinct, but also representative of an individual.

The Source of Character??

Where do we get our character then? Can we carefully select the habits that will in a way determine our destiny like Heraclitus thought we can, or are we born with a predetermined character that then shapes our very own destiny? There are various ways in which our character forms, and these include genetics, socialization, experience, customary and statutory laws that serve to regulate how we behave, as well as our desire as individuals to cultivate a moral path that is distinct from, or similar to what we have observed throughout the ages. In a sense therefore, character is the sum of our genotypic constitution as well as the phenotypic attributes that arise from experience, socialization, mimicry and broader aspects learning.

Can Character be Taught?

Can character then be taught formally like we do the natural sciences, the social sciences and the arts? Can we teach good character like we teach Mathematics, English and Geography? The short answer to this question is no. You don't teach a cat to become a lion or an elephant to be a rhino, however much they share character traits. Dogs will remain dogs and cats will remain cats. What this means therefore is that the influence on character that we can bestow upon learners is limited. They will eventually become what they want to become and when they are ready to become, but that doesn't mean that individuals can't be influenced either negatively or positively, as often happens. This influence, whether positive or negative has been christened the hidden curriculum and plays an important role in character formation yet the formal school system has continuously left out its significance.

The Role of the Hidden Curriculum

The hidden curriculum is often ignored by educationists, with emphasis often placed on the formal or explicit curriculum. We tend to ignore the role that the behavior, attitude and practices of the teachers, parents, school administrators and communities in general have on the character formation of individuals and even entire generations. Children mimic a lot and indeed learn best from what they see than from what they hear. We often don't do what we are told but rather, what we see done by others, and this is where the hidden curriculum comes in. There is a need therefore for role models to be made part and parcel of the school as an institution. How can we do this?

Institutionalizing Character Formation

Many times, learners are attracted to the so-called celebrities that they hear about. It's not uncommon to hear learners want to become like so and so, especially the young ones, instead of choosing whole professions. Footballers would like to be like Messi or Ronaldo and not just play nondescript football. Those who want to sing will most likely identify with the best singers around, while the teacher will most likely want to be like the best teacher around. Just kidding. Most learners do not want to become teachers, until later in life of course, when the options become much clearer, or unless they have a very good teacher for a role model that inspires them to want to become teachers.

Teachers and Parents are not Good Role Models

Why? The majority of teachers aren't good role models. And most parents aren't either. We have teachers that are only happy to receive a salary for coming to work and doing as little as they can, and then we have parents that have abdicated their primary responsibility and are never there in the first place, leave alone being relied upon to foment desirable character in their children. This leaves children with no choice but to look at far removed characters that they cannot demystify. A child will want to become a Messi or Ronaldo without knowing how much they put into their Messiness, or Ronaldo-ness. A child will want to become Beyoncé without knowing what goes into Beyoncé-ness. What am I even saying? Role models are far removed from the school as an institution and the school system must embrace the role of the? hidden curriculum in character formation by making role modeling part of the school as an institution.

In Search of New Role Models

There is a need for Didier Drogba to speak to learners and remind them that even as he played, he also concentrated on his academics and graduated in accountancy. There is a need for learners to understand that the people they so much admire on the screen, in newspapers and magazines, actually have real lives beyond the media hype. One of the examples I often used when talking to college footballers was that of Dr. Joe Masiga, a doctor who went on to play and represent Kenya in rugby and soccer without killing his medicine career. He turned out for AFC Leopards, banged in match winning goals and still treated patients from morning to evening. William Obwaka, an optician, Drogba the accountant and many others can also serve as examples.

There is need for students who aspire to be footballers to understand that beyond the football, Petr Cech, the premier league’s best goalkeeper of all time, is pursuing a PhD in management, Cesar Azpilicueta, Andreas Iniesta, Giorgio Chiellini, Frank Lampard, among many others, have master’s degrees. Frank Lampard’s IQ was measured to be 150, placing her in the top 0.5% of the word’s brainiest people. He has several books to show for it. We need to do the same with politicians and bring to the class the positive side of political life, not just the money and the affluence. Learners need to understand that politicians too had real careers, and no, they didn't study political science. They studied law, medicine, education and everything else, worked as professionals in this field, and then deviated to what makes them money and scandals. It is time learners take a cue from them.