Overview
Education works best when ideas are tested, measured, and refined. This page summarizes common myths about teaching and learning and contrasts them with what research generally shows. The goal is to help families, students, and educators focus on strategies that actually improve outcomes.
Myth 1: Private schools teach better than public schools
What the evidence suggests: Teaching quality varies within every sector. Leadership, teacher development, and classroom practice drive most of the differences—more than school type.
Myth 2: Spending more automatically boosts achievement
What the evidence suggests: Resources matter, but how teaching is designed and delivered matters more. There’s no simple spend-to-score relationship at the student level.
Myth 3: Homework is essential (especially in primary years)
What the evidence suggests: In early grades, large volumes of homework show little impact. Short, targeted practice linked to that day’s lesson works better; lengthy projects for young children are often low-yield.
Myth 4: Smaller classes guarantee better results
What the evidence suggests: Class size can help, but the effect is usually modest compared to teacher effectiveness. Skilled instruction in any class size is the larger driver.
Myth 5: “Do your best” is good guidance
What the evidence suggests: Setting concrete goals and predictions, then stretching beyond them, produces better learning than vague encouragement.
Myth 6: Teachers should talk most of the time
What the evidence suggests: Students learn more when they actively think, practice, and explain. Effective lessons balance clear instruction with guided practice and student talk.
Myth 7: School uniforms improve academic results
What the evidence suggests: Uniform policies may affect culture or identity, but they do not, by themselves, raise achievement.
Myth 8: Single-sex schools produce higher academic performance
What the evidence suggests: When studies control for background factors, co-ed and single-sex schools show similar achievement.
Myth 9: Extracurriculars distract from learning
What the evidence suggests: Quality extracurricular activities often support engagement and persistence in school, which predicts long-term wellbeing.
Myth 10: TV directly harms learning
What the evidence suggests: The main issue is time displacement. Excess screen time replaces reading, conversation, sleep, or practice—activities that build skills.
Myth 11: Birth month determines long-term success
What the evidence suggests: Age differences can matter early on, but the gap typically narrows after a few years. Belonging and early friendships often matter more.
Myth 12: Children learn best only by “discovering” on their own
What the evidence suggests: Pure discovery is inefficient for most novices. Explicit teaching plus guided exploration outperforms unguided inquiry.
Myth 13: Students learn more when they control the content
What the evidence suggests: Choice in trivial matters (e.g., tools, timing) can help motivation, but turning over core curricular decisions to novices does not reliably raise achievement.
Myth 14: Special diets fix behaviour and attention
What the evidence suggests: Broad claims (e.g., sugar causes hyperactivity) are not supported by high-quality reviews. Some individuals have sensitivities, but population-level effects are small or inconsistent.
Myth 15: Criticism should always be softened with praise
What the evidence suggests: Clear, specific feedback improves learning. Pairing every critique with generic praise can dilute the message; better to maintain a supportive climate and deliver precise feedback.
Myth 16: Deep content knowledge alone makes a great teacher
What the evidence suggests: Subject knowledge matters, but impact grows when teachers connect new ideas to prior knowledge, sequence surface-to-deep learning, and adapt instruction.
Myth 17: Holding a struggling student back accelerates learning
What the evidence suggests: Grade retention is linked to negative academic and social outcomes for most students; targeted support while progressing is usually more effective. (Acceleration for gifted students is a different case and can work well.)
How to Use This Page
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For families: Focus on proven classroom practices and supportive habits at home.
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For students: Practice with retrieval, feedback, and spaced review.
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For educators: Combine explicit teaching with active practice and clear success criteria.
Disclaimer
This page is for general educational purposes and does not constitute professional advice. Calgary Health Review is independent and not affiliated with government programs or past initiatives.
