Source: Christian Science Monitor
by staff
“In a well-known folktale, young Goldilocks tests out three bears’ porridge (too hot, too cold, just right), as well as their chairs and beds. The story delights most children of preschool age. But when these children enter school, according to education experts in the United States, a ‘Goldilocks approach’ to developing foundational skills does not serve them well. Teaching and grading that aligns content and standards to a ‘just right’ fit, rather than challenging students to grow, is a disservice, in the view of University of Illinois Chicago literacy professor Timothy Shanahan. ‘This popular approach to teaching has been holding kids back rather than helping them succeed,’ he wrote in The Conversation last fall. ‘Students learn more when taught with more difficult texts.'” (02/17/26)