A significant aspect of the Hidden Curriculum in Western schools is to engender pride in the home country and to develop xenophobia concerning non-western peoples. Whilst the intellectual minds of western educationalists could never express this formally - or at best regret it, it is undoubtedly true that the majority of students who leave western schools believe their own countries are the best, other western countries are almost as good, and non-western countries might be pleasant to visit for an adventure but that's it.
How true are these views?
Travel has to be an integral part of the process. Over time ecosophy schools might develop their own links, but the kind of services the Round Square offers would be indicative of the type of appropriate travel and experience we would hope our students would participate in. However such projects could reinforce the negative western stereotypes, on my own travels I have met many westerners whose selective views have increased their own bigotry despite abundant evidence to the contrary.
Significant in developing an appropriate world view is the opportunity for students to receive balanced input of information. Whilst in state education some attempts are made to present a balanced input a typical scenario would be a Christian presenting what a Muslim believes. This academic biased presentation of another's deep-felt beliefs cannot possibly convey what a Muslim believes - only a Muslim can do that. In contemporary western society such people are always available but state education refuses to allow them access to the students on the grounds of bias. I find this ironic when books like Walter Rodney's "How Europe Underdeveloped Africa" are mainstream in African education and are not used in the UK. I am tempted to say banned but the West doesn't do that; I might well be allowed to run a course including Walter Rodney but I would then not get promotion.
For students to understand the diversity of views they need direct access to such views. A powerful speaker may impact on a student but such impact is only life-affecting if the student has been looking for such an opportunity for a long time. The Natural Path would encourage following such an interest. More often than not poor decisions made by young people are as a result of a reaction to repression rather than an attraction to an ill-considered speaker.
It is important to understand how overpowering the Hidden Curriculum is. There is an unwritten alliance with media bias and social engineering that prevents students from objectively discerning the truth. Good education tries to remove any bias and present views objectively with equal weight so that students can then decide. But what must be understood in this is that students are already recipients of a tremendous amount of bias already as will be discussed in the media paper. An unbiased curriculum might appear to have a bias in order to present a 100% balanced view in the context of the prevailing media bombardment, balance is the order of the day.
