The Emperor Has No Clothes: Questioning the Schooling System

A thoughtful student surrounded by educational materials, reflecting on the schooling system's effectiveness in an Indian classroom.
3 min read

Part 1 of 8 in The Emperor has no Clothes: How do we fix a broken schooling system?

This chapter questions the effectiveness of the current schooling system by examining its assumptions and outcomes. It challenges readers to consider if traditional schools are still the best way to educate children today.

Quick Summary

  • The schooling system's effectiveness is questioned despite past successes.
  • Surviving the system is not proof of its quality.
  • Criticism of the system can feel like a personal attack on one's education.
  • The key question is whether we would design schools the same way today.

Sceptic: You keep saying the schooling system is broken. That sounds unnecessarily dramatic. After all, you went through the same system. So did I. We turned out reasonably well.

Me: And that is precisely why it is so difficult for us to question it.

The system worked well enough for people like us, so we assume it must still be the best way to educate children. We confuse surviving a system with evidence that the system is good.

There is also an uncomfortable psychological problem. If I tell you that the schooling system is badly designed, it can sound as though I am questioning the value of the education which helped you become successful. No one likes being told that the emperor has no clothes.

But the question isn’t whether schools produced successful people in the past.

The question is: If we were designing a learning system from scratch for children growing up today, would we design anything remotely resembling a conventional school?

I don’t think we would.

Frequently asked questions

Why is the schooling system considered broken?

The system is considered broken because it may not be the best way to educate children today, despite past successes.

How does surviving the schooling system relate to its effectiveness?

Surviving the system is often mistaken for proof that it is effective, but this does not necessarily mean it is the best approach.

Why might criticism of the schooling system feel personal?

Criticism can feel personal because it may seem to question the value of the education that contributed to one's success.

Would we design schools the same way today?

The chapter suggests that if we were designing a learning system from scratch today, it would likely differ significantly from conventional schools.