The awareness of the classroom's 'hidden' assumptions can foster greater self-consciousness and compassion regarding those who are less fluent in the norms of the hidden curriculum. The hidden curriculum of social assumptions thus is least harmful when it is not so hidden. An effective teacher cannot eliminate all social norms from the classroom, nor would this be desirable, but the teacher can grow more self-conscious and explicit about her expectations. Some of the teacher's assumptions might be valid, others might not be, but not until the rules of the hidden curriculum are revealed can they be fairly upheld. Hidden rules are often arbitrarily enforced, and frustrate those who do not understand them.

The 'hidden curriculum' has been viewed alternatively as insidious and necessary. The curriculum has even been called the conscious and the unconscious "indoctrination that attempts to maintain social privilege" within the framework of a formal education setting (Deutsch, 2004, p. 3). Yet it has also been called the "unstated rules necessary for successful completion of formal education studies" (Deutsch, 2004, p. 3). These rules can be powerful in shaping a student's self-esteem for good or ill. "What you learn in the hidden curriculum lasts a lifetime. If there is a contradiction between what's taught by the formal curriculum and what's taught by the hidden curriculum, people always believe the hidden curriculum. Always" (Ortberg 2009, p.1). A teacher who says that all students are valued, but shows implied favoritism to those of her background, or even those who excel in certain subjects will only be believed in terms of the 'hidden' curriculum she is teaching.

A hidden curriculum is not necessarily negative. According to one seventh grade student at a progressive middle school: "A lot of what we do at school has to do with responsibility. When we plan our end-of-the-year-trip, it's our responsibility to do the organizing and planning. If we don't work hard enough and plan well, it's our own fault if we don't go. When we have a problem with schoolwork, it's our responsibility to fix it, although teachers are always available...

If we are given free work time, it's our responsibility to make the most of it. We are responsible for what we learn, or don't. As we grow up, we'll have a lot to be accountable for. It might be as minor as our chores or as large as piloting a plane. We can't just give away our responsibilities; they are ours to deal with" (Hasler 2010). The hidden curriculum can also communicate positive values of empowerment and social justice by trusting students to govern themselves and to make their own mistakes.
However, in this instance, what is striking is the orchestrated nature of this hidden curriculum: although it is hidden to some degree, both students and faculty members are aware of it enough to praise it. The danger is not that students learn social values in school: students are always learning, in formal and informal ways, about the world and about themselves. But that learning must be constructed so that it teaches what the teacher wants and desires to teach and does not merely reinforce longstanding and unconscious social prejudices about race, ethnicity, and gender.