Posted on 11/08/2010 7:39:06 AM PST by Immerito
How to Raise Boys Who Read Hint: Not with gross-out books and video-game bribes.
By THOMAS SPENCE
When I was a young boy, America's elite schools and universities were almost entirely reserved for males. That seems incredible now, in an era when headlines suggest that boys are largely unfit for the classroom. In particular, they can't read.
According to a recent report from the Center on Education Policy, for example, substantially more boys than girls score below the proficiency level on the annual National Assessment of Educational Progress reading test. This disparity goes back to 1992, and in some states the percentage of boys proficient in reading is now more than ten points below that of girls. The male-female reading gap is found in every socio-economic and ethnic category, including the children of white, college-educated parents.
The good news is that influential people have noticed this problem. The bad news is that many of them have perfectly awful ideas for solving it.
Everyone agrees that if boys don't read well, it's because they don't read enough. But why don't they read? A considerable number of teachers and librarians believe that boys are simply bored by the "stuffy" literature they encounter in school. According to a revealing Associated Press story in July these experts insist that we must "meet them where they are"—that is, pander to boys' untutored tastes.
For elementary- and middle-school boys, that means "books that exploit [their] love of bodily functions and gross-out humor." AP reported that one school librarian treats her pupils to "grossology" parties. "Just get 'em reading," she counsels cheerily. "Worry about what they're reading later."
(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...
American media presents the notion of it being “cool to fail” as well. Teachers and other authority figures are mocked, the protagonist who gets low grades is misunderstood (if the teachers REALLY knew that he/she was a secret dragon/crime fighter, what have you....)
American television has gone way down hill from even twenty years ago.
Yep, I agree with that!
Why don’t boys read? Because it’s all by design - there is a master plan.
I recently saw a 3rd grade “reader” from the 30’s ..that reader had actual science and history articles and stories in it...no sappy easy reading.. I would guess it would be a 5th grade or later reader today .
Most college students today can not read the The Federalist Papers with any level of understanding . they were written for farmers with limited formal education to read.
Thanks to the TV, and vidio games we are raising a generation of idiots
I teach public school, yet I plan on homeschooling my son. He is two so obviously “schooling” has already begun. I’ve just recently started telling my colleagues that I’m planning on homeschooling. You should see the looks I get!
I wish you were my dad!
I was and am a voracious reader, but I always had to get books in between the chores. And staying up late to read books? He would come down if he figured out that the lights were still on.
The ongoing Stupid People, also known as the masters of schmart, continue to be too smart by half, the same ones who brought you these problems now making up more stupid ways to make the matter worse claiming an all new well known insight...
Solution:
First and foremost; Clarify to every parent, child and student throughout life, their future, wellbeing, and monetary value is dependent upon their knowledge, skills, ability and competitive placement; not as a social convenience or the feel-good-ism of pop-culture!
Second; Government Education must establish and enforce a rigorous national education policy beginning at Kindergarten through High school (K – 12) based on classical reading, writing, math, history, United States Constitution, natural science, computer sciences, and basic foundation of social-sciences (to be expanded upon after third year upper-level college courses).
Third, hold all children back when unable to progress through a grade.
Fourth, every business can establish competitively discriminatory hiring practices which can exclude anyone not holding a High school/GED all the way up to Bachelors degree.
Fifth, create a school voucher system, at 50% of government education value to let families manage their own education.
Sixth, …
.......Ummmmmmmmmm, no.
There's plenty of good stuff to read out there for boys. Nose-picking jokes are fine, in small quantities. But, steady diet of them is no better for a kid than a steady diet of chips and soda.
However, I make the assumption that the parents actually read, themselves. And Care. It's shocking, to me, of the number people's houses (friends, family, co-workers) that I go into and find nothing more substantial to read than "People" magazine.
Mrs WBill and I could stock a medium-sized library. Not everyone can go to that extreme.....but library cards (at least locally for me) are free.
I used to get "Baseball Digest" at that age. Read the print right off the pages. It was 90% stories/news and not much for pictures. Good content. Same company put out "Basketball Digest", "Auto Racing Digest", etc if Baseball isn't your son's bag.
No idea if it's still appropriate, it's been a long time since I was 10. :-)
When Mrs WBill and I mentioned homeschooling, the biggest pushback that we received was from teachers, and particularly, school administrators. "Why would you want to do something as stupid as that?" was a common comment.
Crabs in pot, all of them.
FWIW, we just moved to an excellent school district. I interviewed the principal and some of the faculty before we moved there, gave them the 5th degree, and still came away impressed (although I'm sure that they're referring to me now with a few choice 4-letter words). So...we'll get the best of both worlds....a solid foundation at home, supplemented by a solid curriculum at school. Everyone wins, especially the kids.
My son entered kindergarten reading at a third grade level (proficient). His first grade teacher noticed a “dip” in his reading scores and became concerned. I asked him why and he said the story was “girly”. I relayed that info to the teacher and sure enough... when the story was more “manly”, his scores were better. I allowed him to read anything that was of interest to him like battles, wars, military tanks etc... At 14, he has requested the book “The Art of War” (I think that is the title) and I will allow it. Parents need to see that reading becomes more interesting to a child if it is something they want to read. Just a thought.
I’m in a line of work where I’m in many people’s homes. I’m continually amazed by the number of “educated” people who have no books in their homes.
Myself, I trip over them a lot.
My parents always lectured us on the benefits of reading.
It took. All us kids are big readers.
bump for future reading
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