Horizontally speaking through the passage in Obs and Gynae

When I first became aware of the hidden curriculum, it was described as the informal learning that takes place outside the classrooms, such as in the passageways and refreshment areas. A new awareness was awakened to become conscious of these occurrences and opportunities which most frequently occur without planning. At the time I was participating in a health and human rights workshop and recognized the unmet needs of some of the participants who were keen to share their stories from the Apartheid years of discrimination.

Recently and unexpectedly I engaged in a brief conversation in the corridor with our departmental head, the importance of this interaction led me to again reflect on the unexpected opportunities arising from these open spaces. Our mutual concern was about the normalization of disrespectful practices in labour wards. What about those who are unaware of the inappropriateness of their habitual poor and abusive practices?

A recent reading from Lenz Taguchi's book, Going Beyond the Theory/Practice Divide in Early Childhood Education, draws on Deleuze and Guattari's concept of striated and smooth spaces demonstrating the differences between organized, controlled, ordered and safe learning as opposed to that which is uncertain, with multiple opportunities and avenues, yet both are generally intertwined. Do the passageways provide us with an agentic force and materiality that inspire deeper insights and conversations?