Why do boys hate reading?

[SFG75]

One thing I've noticed is that students as a whole, aren't too keen on reading. At the same time, data in my school(and others-I've looked) consistently shows that there is a gender gap in terms of time spent reading, as well as reading abilities(i.e.-decoding, getting the main idea, etc.) I've noticed that if I have kids read silently for just five or ten minutes before a discussion, the boys act as if I'm inflicting mortal pain upon them. At the same time, I've noticed that while some boys will not want to read a book like Where the Red Fern Grows, they will pick up my giant enclyclopedia of boxing or ammunition and memorize every ordinance ever lobbed over German lines in WWII. My experience has been somewhat vindicated as I read a great Washington Post article titled- Why Johnny Won't Read.

Here's a lengthy portion:

Although one might expect the schools to be trying hard to make reading appealing to boys, the K-12 literature curriculum may in fact be contributing to the problem. It has long been known that there are strong differences between boys and girls in their literary preferences. According to reading interest surveys, both boys and girls are unlikely to choose books based on an "issues" approach, and children are not interested in reading about ways to reform society -- or themselves. But boys prefer adventure tales, war, sports and historical nonfiction, while girls prefer stories about personal relationships and fantasy. Moreover, when given choices, boys do not choose stories that feature girls, while girls frequently select stories that appeal to boys.

Unfortunately, the textbooks and literature assigned in the elementary grades do not reflect the dispositions of male students. Few strong and active male role models can be found as lead characters. Gone are the inspiring biographies of the most important American presidents, inventors, scientists and entrepreneurs. No military valor, no high adventure. On the other hand, stories about adventurous and brave women abound. Publishers seem to be more interested in avoiding "masculine" perspectives or "stereotypes" than in getting boys to like what they are assigned to read.

At the middle school level, the kind of quality literature that might appeal to boys has been replaced by Young Adult Literature, that is, easy-to-read, short novels about teenagers and problems such as drug addiction, teenage pregnancy, alcoholism, domestic violence, divorced parents and bullying. Older literary fare has also been replaced by something called "culturally relevant" literature -- texts that appeal to students' ethnic group identification on the assumption that sharing the leading character's ethnicity will motivate them to read.

There is no evidence whatsoever that either of these types of reading fare has turned boys into lifelong readers or learners. On the contrary, the evidence is accumulating that by the time they go on to high school, boys have lost their interest in reading about the fictional lives, thoughts and feelings of mature individuals in works written in high-quality prose, and they are no longer motivated by an exciting plot to persist in the struggle they will have with the vocabulary that goes with it.

So why is it that boys don't read?

Do you agree with the article that I've introduced?

What might be some other factors on this issue?

 

[G4G]

No need to go into the ins and outs of a cat's ass on this one. It's simple: girls are more intelligent than boys.

 

[Stewart]

What might be some other factors on this issue?

Cost cutting so that only the shitty books get the promotion and hype, MTV, reality TV, computer games, and fat redneck parents.

 

[technokitty]

I'd think it's because on average it seems guys like doing something like building models etc (getting their hands dirty so to speak) and girls are more likely to sit and read, write etc

now of course there are plenty of exceptions but I'd guess that's why the majority flows that way

 

[Stewart]

It's simple: girls are more intelligent than boys.

Tell that to my friend who was checking out how much it would cost for a holiday in Atlanta, Georgia and found that it was quite cheap at about £300. Of course, she was looking at flights to Tblisi, Georgia.

 

[Motokid]

It's simple...reading is for dorks....

Boy's and Reading

Thanks to my local newspapaer the original article can't be reached
I'll have to do some digging via interweb....

 

[Motokid]

Since I can no longer edit....

This might be the article I was searching for: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A33956-2005Jan24.html

 

[Minniemal]

Perhaps history has something to do with it: boys don't hear about earlier generations of boys being told not to worry their pretty little heads. Being pissed-off with the (recent) status quo is a powerful incentive to open a book of fiction, right?

 

[Motokid]

 

[direstraits]

I've noticed that if I have kids read silently for just five or ten minutes before a discussion, the boys act as if I'm inflicting mortal pain upon them.

[Laugh!]

Yeah I totally agree that boys will only read stuff they are interested in. I sure am one of those who grew up knowing how to differentiate a leopard and a jaguar (I used to like big cats, not the evil small household ones, so try not to laugh at me (too much)), but not know why anyone would want to read "story books".

Maybe schools need to put lessons in comicbook form. It could work. "On this stormy day, Benjamin Franklin decided it was a nice day for kites..."

ds

 

[Minniemal]

Oh, don't worry your pretty little helmet.

 

[Motokid]

I'm not worried. I'm confused.

What does this mean?

Perhaps history has something to do with it: boys don't hear about earlier generations of boys being told not to worry their pretty little heads. Being pissed-off with the (recent) status quo is a powerful incentive to open a book of fiction, right?

I'm just stumped at trying to figure it out....Are young boys supposed to know what the status quo is? Earlier generations and pretty little heads?

Just lost that's all....

 

[Stewart]

Modern pressures, Moto. Modern pressures.

 

[Spineshank]

It totally has everything to do with what your child/boy/man likes. Im a guy and i love fantasy, in movies, magazines, books anything to do with this. I can see the point that yeah more girls are going to read and guys are going to do physical things but thats just the way we work i guess. My girlfriend actually doesn't like to read and kind of thinks its strange that she a girl doesn't enjoy reading and i would? Maybe its hereditary or something but there are always exceptions like previously stated by someone. Majority of boys just dont like to read, i take it as thats just the way it is, if they do enjoy it great, if not it sjust going to hav eto be painful until they are out of school and dont have to worry about it anymore.

 

[Kookamoor]

Cost cutting so that only the shitty books get the promotion and hype, MTV, reality TV, computer games, and fat redneck parents.

I don't think "shitty books" are at the root of this one, although this could be the reason that "shitty books" are popular - the kids don't really learn about literature at the school level because it's not interesting and as such aren't drawn to some better written literature further down the line. Thus "shitty books", which *are* at more accessable reading levels, do draw them in.

I think there's something in what you wrote, SFG. I can't base that on my own experiences, though, as I went to a girl's school and while I thought our syllabus was quite good, I don't know what a male would have thought. I think there is some overcompensation in the school system towards women - a relic of the past where women were not catered for in the classroom.

Incidently, Moto, this is what Minniemal is getting at - she's suggesting that women today still 'remember' a time when they were discriminated against in the classroom and in literature, that they are more likely to want to embrace this once taboo topic. I put 'remember' in quotations because it's a feeling that we get from our parents - my mother told me about her graduating class, and how few women actually stayed in school until the final year, let alone went on to post-secondary education. The first female engineers in my department didn't graduate until the 1980s!! And it wasn't that long ago that women were still writing under male pen names in order to get published. Now, as I said, I think this is what Minniemal is getting at. I think these facts are part of the reason for the overcompensation towards women in the classroom in some instances, but I don't think this by itself is the reason for girls to read more than boys.

 

[Kookamoor]

I can see the point that yeah more girls are going to read and guys are going to do physical things but thats just the way we work i guess.

*COUGH* I'm sorry, what century do you live in?

Majority of boys just dont like to read, i take it as thats just the way it is, if they do enjoy it great, if not it sjust going to hav eto be painful until they are out of school and dont have to worry about it anymore.

*SPLUTTER* And how do you propose that these boys should progress in life without the ability to read and have a well rounded vocabulary? If they don't like reading they should just 'suck it up'? But they like reading some things... so why not encourage that and develop new programs to improve their reading comprehension. The *point* of reading in schools isn't just to read stories, it's about developing skills for later life. And it's very important that any inadequacies that prevent students from gaining these skills is remedied.

 

[Motokid]

Let's see....read about baseball, or play baseball? Read about cars, or drive them? Read about girls, or date them?

If the choice is reading or actually doing something most males are going to want to do something.

What sounds like more fun, reading about racing motorcycles or actually racing motorcycles?

You are talking about the males here. The hunters. The builders and destroyers. It's a part of our internal (millions of years of evolution) being to not have the genetic make-up to just sit around.

Even watching TV is not just sitting around. Men flip through channels at every commercial break. They are constantly doing something. Reading requires the anti-matter that has made us men what we are.

This isn't hard. There have been studies. Put girls in a room and they sit down and play with dolls, or entertain themselves quietly. Put boys in the room and they ransack the place and turn it upside down.

Reading because you "have to" sucks rocks. It's torture. That's a completely different animal from reading because you want to.

 

[Kookamoor]

If the choice is reading or actually doing something most males are going to want to do something.

You are talking about the males here. The hunters. The builders and destroyers. It's a part of our internal (millions of years of evolution) being to not have the genetic make-up to just sit around.

And women "just sit around"???? I think you're making some sweeping generalisations here, Moto.

This isn't hard. There have been studies. Put girls in a room and they sit down and play with dolls, or entertain themselves quietly. Put boys in the room and they ransack the place and turn it upside down.

And why do you think the boys did that? Possibly because they weren't given the 'right' toys - give some boys a box of Legos and leave 'em for the day! Equally I think it's got to do with giving the boys the 'right' books, and doing this from a young age. Perhaps parents indulge their boys too much and don't encourage them to be quiet and read at a young age, whereas they do with girls. Thus later on they are not used to such activities and don't want to do it.

 

[Flowerdk4]

Cost cutting so that only the shitty books get the promotion and hype, MTV, reality TV, computer games, and fat redneck parents.

This simply me LOL! and I do believe it holds some truth.

My experience is that boys, when they are young boys, need a reason to read. They dont just go about it by themselves, if they are not introduced to what reading is all about in the first place.
I have a son and I have read stories for him since he was a baby. Now he is a happy reader!

Flower

 

[Motokid]

You could call it sweeping if you want...what does that change?

Females are nurturing, caring, and warm.
Males are aggressive, competitive, and cold.

Is that right or wrong?