John Coy: Girls have reading down, but boys are losing interest

Submitted by anthony on Wed, 2008-07-16 06:36

Article here. Excerpt:

'Fashionistas, mean girls, gossip girls, island girls, it girls, a whole sisterhood of traveling pants. Had I read the sign wrong? Was this the table of summer reading for girls? I checked the sign again: Summer Reading for Teens. I scanned the table. Where were the books for boys? Among the brightly colored covers, not a single book featured a male protagonist in a contemporary setting.

What would a male teen think about this table? Probably that summer reading didn't include him.
...
What message do we send boys when we load up a table of books for teens with titles that so many of them do not connect with? Is summer reading supposed to be fun? Do we assume that boys won't read for fun? Do we assume boys don't read -- period?'

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"In addition to publishing more books that address boys' genuine interests and getting them into their hands, another significant change needs to occur. Men must step up. Almost all the people telling boys about the importance of reading are female. More mothers read to their children than do fathers. More women visit libraries and buy books at bookstores. Boys hear they should read from female teachers and librarians.

Most boys struggling to become men are skeptical if they are not hearing from men that reading is important. Fathers, uncles, grandfathers, coaches, male teachers, librarians, principals, and business and community leaders need to let boys know that reading is directly connected to their future."

Nice theory, John, but therein lies the problem. Boys can't hear from men how important reading is, if men have been driven out of their lives or not allowed to be part of them. Millions of boys cannot hear from male librarians, male teachers, fathers, uncles or grandfathers because such people have been systematically removed from their experience. It is utterly pointless calling on men to step up (another example of "always blame the man"?) when there are no men in sight or earshot.

Thus does one injustice compound others.

Civilisation: man's greatest, and most unappreciated, gift to women

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Submitted by PaulP on Wed, 2008-07-16 16:59