Read this blog alongside the previous two blogs:
- When Schools Believe Their Own Lies: The Illusory Truth in Education
- Breaking the Ceiling: Teaching Learners to Think Beyond Limits
The next blog is about How weak performances are masked by roleplayers.
Hans Christian Andersen’s famous tale, The Emperor’s New Clothes, tells of a king who parades through his city wearing nothing at all — but everyone, afraid to speak the truth, applauds his “magnificent robe.”
It takes a child to break the spell and shout the obvious:
“The king is naked!”
The story of The Emperor’s New Clothes isn’t just a fairy tale — it’s a mirror.
In classrooms everywhere, we repeat the same routines: drills, syllabus checklists, worksheets, tests. They feel familiar. They feel safe. But what if they’re not helping our learners grow the way we think they are?
Maybe it’s time to pause, look closer, and ask: what are we really teaching?
The king is naked. And so are our classrooms.
For over a century, we’ve drilled sums, ticked off syllabus boxes, and handed out worksheets — parading these routines as “good teaching.” But deep down, we know the truth: repetition isn’t learning, and control isn’t growth.
The tragedy? We keep clapping anyway, pretending nothing is wrong.
The Illusion We Keep Believing
Every day, schools repeat the same practices:
- Drill the sums.
- Cover the syllabus.
- Hand out worksheets.
- Mark the tests.
Each action carries a hidden belief:
- “Students can’t figure it out on their own.”
- “Learning is about ticking boxes, not deep understanding.”
- “Busy hands mean busy minds.”
- “Scores define worth.”
Like the courtiers in Andersen’s story, we nod along because these methods feel safe, familiar, and unquestionable. The more we repeat them, the truer they feel. This is the Illusory Truth Effect at work: familiarity masquerading as truth.
What We Refuse to See
Step into almost any classroom and you’ll see the evidence:
- Learners who can copy steps but freeze when a question looks different.
- Students who can recite formulas but have no idea why they work.
- Children who truly believe they’re “not math people,” because they’ve been trained to think speed equals intelligence.
The king is naked. And we keep applauding the parade.
In Andersen’s story, it took a child to break the spell and say the words no one else dared to:
“The king is naked.”
In education, it takes courage to admit the same.
It takes courage to question routines that have been “normal” for generations — to admit that what we’ve been doing doesn’t align with how the brain actually learn.
Breaking the Spell
In Andersen’s story, it took a child to speak the truth. In education, it takes courage to say:
“This isn’t working. The king is naked.”
The Choice Before Us
We can keep applauding the parade, pretending our classrooms are clothed in progress.
Or we can pause, take a hard look, and admit the truth: We need brain-based teaching and learning and NOT a curriculum driven education system.
