Why do boys hate reading?

[kuroc]

When I was a boy I liked reading

 

[SFG75]

When I was a boy I liked reading

I loved it too. Then again, you can't help but really enjoy it when your mother is a professor and the house is chock full of Time, Newsweek, U.S. News, and National Geographics. There are pictures of me sitting in a chair and reading these things when I was nine or ten. The wife thinks it terribly odd, but I certainly had a normal childhood in regards to friends and care-free play time.

Boys are good readers and can succeed, but all too often, teaching isn't geared to boys. Take a look at a junior high room. Boys can't sit still to save tehir lives, girls can mind until May if they were required to.

 

[TheRedNewt]

The pattern I have noticed is that young girls may read more as a percentage, but few seem to be avid readers. Whereas, based solely on personal experience, the boys that read are avid readers. More of an all or nothing type of thing for boys from my experience.

I do have one question though, is this a newer development or has it been like this for a good while, 25+ years? I'm just wondering if perhaps boys have shifted away from books as other types of male-focused entertainment developed. For instance, video games have been very male focused in marketing for quite a while, and as another hobby is picked up there is less time for others. There are other factors that could fall into the same category, but I would think that the pattern of learning would just be one of many reasons.

 

[jaynebosco]

As somebody who has volunteered in a school library for the past few years, I have definately been able to notice the difference in the reading habits of the students, both male and female. The girls tend to get the fiction material, with the odd non-fiction item, whereas the boys tend to on the whole get the non-fiction materials, with some of them getting fiction (usually the Captain Underpants books).

As for the female-male ratio in university, it's the same thing in Canada; most of the students are female, especially in the undergrad programs. Of course it depends on the department you are in.

 

[SFG75]

TheRedNewt-We are dealing with some pretty big generalizations here, but I see this to some degree of what you are mentioning. The "A" female student who is "book-smart" and who "gets it" but who wouldn't pick up a book to read if it weren't part of an assignment or project for a grade.

jaynebosco-Your comments about the fiction and non/fiction split is interesting. Our school library has a lot of the "adult fiction" books that are displayed prominently. The girls snap up those books, while the boys tend to focus more on the sports and car material that is around. What is happening right now in post-secondary education is disappointing. Hopefully, something can be figured out before long.

 

[TheRedNewt]

TheRedNewt-We are dealing with some pretty big generalizations here, but I see this to some degree of what you are mentioning. The "A" female student who is "book-smart" and who "gets it" but who wouldn't pick up a book to read if it weren't part of an assignment or project for a grade.

Meh, the topic title is pretty big generalization, so I felt I had my oppurtunity . Anyway, I wasn't referring to the "A" student who dislikes reading, which I do remember, but just what I remember from girls in high school in general. Even girls that did not do exceptionally well in school would read romance style books, ones that would fall into the same category as The Notebook.

However, in middle school just about every guy hated the books we read because we always read "Coming of Age" novels. The rationale from the teachers and school was simply that we must be going through the same things, so we would love to read about it because we should have been able to easily relate. On the contrary, most of us were able to recognize the obvious plot cliches and stereotypical characters, and for the most part we were completely bored with the books. In high school though, most people liked the American Lit. novels we read; most even said that The Scarlet Letter was at the least "Ok."

 

[SFG75]

The rationale from the teachers and school was simply that we must be going through the same things, so we would love to read about it because we should have been able to easily relate. On the contrary, most of us were able to recognize the obvious plot cliches and stereotypical characters, and for the most part we were completely bored with the books.

Yep, the joy of reading killed by people who are in education-go figure. Unfortunately, I've seen a lot of that thinking of "what is good for them" mentality and I just shake my head.

 

[TheRedNewt]

Yep, the joy of reading killed by people who are in education-go figure. Unfortunately, I've seen a lot of that thinking of "what is good for them" mentality and I just shake my head.

Perhaps I went too far by saying what I saw as their purpose, but I still feel that the reading curriculum is sometimes kept too shallow for too long.

 

[abecedarian]

Perhaps I went too far by saying what I saw as their purpose, but I still feel that the reading curriculum is sometimes kept too shallow for too long.

This is one area where homeschoolers tend to do well. While a few stick to readers, most of us veer off into "living books" as quickly as possible. Many take a cue from 19th century British educator Charlotte Mason, and search high and low for good reading material and avoid "twaddle." In the matter of encouraging boys to read, there's been a great push to find material that is relevant as well as well written.

 

[jaynebosco]

jaynebosco-Your comments about the fiction and non/fiction split is interesting. Our school library has a lot of the "adult fiction" books that are displayed prominently. The girls snap up those books, while the boys tend to focus more on the sports and car material that is around. What is happening right now in post-secondary education is disappointing. Hopefully, something can be figured out before long.

I have noticed that too: the boys tend to get the non-fiction books on cars and sports and anything related to those sorts of topics. Being a fine arts school that I volunteer in, they also like to get the how-to drawing books. As for fiction, I see a lot fantasy signed out, especially our stuff by Tolkien and C.S. Lewis; seems movies is a large reason for books taken out by students.

It is disappointing, especially when there is such a shortage in areas of teaching, where I think males could have a positive influence on male students. I hope that something can be figured out too.

 

[arin]

I'm a male reader and I think it would be a combination of peer pressure and the non-interesting books/stories that are read in early years of schooling. The lack of time could also be a factor. I know some of my male cousins never read anymore, which I'm guessing is because lack of time or some other factor.

 

[HermioneWeasley]

i'm not a teacher, or a librarian or anything, in fact, i'm just a teenager, but when i go into a bookstore and look at all the books available, there's hte usual books: Harry Potter, LOTR, the classics, but there are also a lot more books to appeal to girls. Boys usually read books with male only characters, but girls read books with male and female characters. also, there are a LOT of books such as gossip girl, the sisterhood of the traveling pants, clique, etc.. on the market which is just for girls. so, basically, boys are less interested in reading because they can't find things to read as easily. or, at least, i think it's part of hte problem.

 

[pontalba]

i'm not a teacher, or a librarian or anything, in fact, i'm just a teenager, but when i go into a bookstore and look at all the books available, there's hte usual books: Harry Potter, LOTR, the classics, but there are also a lot more books to appeal to girls. Boys usually read books with male only characters, but girls read books with male and female characters. also, there are a LOT of books such as gossip girl, the sisterhood of the traveling pants, clique, etc.. on the market which is just for girls. so, basically, boys are less interested in reading because they can't find things to read as easily. or, at least, i think it's part of hte problem.

You bring up an extremely valid point. But, and pardon me, I am old, D ) but what about things like The Hardy Boys, or the various incarnations of Star Trek or Star Wars? Wouldn't that appeal to boys?
I just find it difficult to believe that reading is a gender based inclination.

 

[SFG75]

You bring up an extremely valid point. But, and pardon me, I am old, D ) but what about things like The Hardy Boys, or the various incarnations of Star Trek or Star Wars? Wouldn't that appeal to boys?
I just find it difficult to believe that reading is a gender based inclination.

During my teenage years, I had no interest in Star Wars or anything like that. It may have been great for the kid with the pocket protector, but not for me. I mostly read non-fiction. I gained that interest through playing with soldiers and tanks. I then began to wonder, why do nations have those things? That led me to read Newsweek and U.S. News & World Report. Before I knew it, I was reading Tom Clancy and other material that appealed to me and that had to do with military matters. I then progressed to political works and from there, to ancient and modern history. In english class, I did read The Old Man and the Sea and Animal Farm, but it was the girls who had the "right answer" so I was content to listen and give the teacher "I read that too!" kind of look.

Great Comments from our younger readers, I totally understand where you guys are coming from.

 

[abecedarian]

I've often wondered how much individual personality comes into play in this matter of boys and reading. I have 4 sons, 14, 12, 7, and 4. Each like books in various ways. The oldest is sttuck on science fiction and fantasy fiction, only reading outside that genre if assigned for school. The next son reads more widely, and includes sci-fi, fantasy, classics, general fiction, and nonfiction. The nonfiction he uses mostly as a reference for his art work. The cool thing is to see him guiding the next younger boy to do the same thing. Ethan is just learning to read, but he's caught on to using books to improve his drawing skills. The youngest loves a good story, and if no one is available to read one, he'll pick up a book and use the pictures to make one up for himself.
I like the idea of having magazines around to promote interest and investigation. Maybe I can talk the dh into a subscription to National Geographic and Newsweek or Time.

 

[TheRedNewt]

i'm not a teacher, or a librarian or anything, in fact, i'm just a teenager, but when i go into a bookstore and look at all the books available, there's hte usual books: Harry Potter, LOTR, the classics, but there are also a lot more books to appeal to girls. Boys usually read books with male only characters, but girls read books with male and female characters. also, there are a LOT of books such as gossip girl, the sisterhood of the traveling pants, clique, etc.. on the market which is just for girls. so, basically, boys are less interested in reading because they can't find things to read as easily. or, at least, i think it's part of hte problem.

Here's my question, though: Do boys not read as much because there are less books for them, or are there less books for them because they don't read as much?

 

[steffee]

Here's my question, though: Do boys not read as much because there are less books for them, or are there less books for them because they don't read as much?

I disagree that there are less books for boys. Books on wars, crime, thriller, horror, sci-fi, fantasy etc all appeal to boys, and most of which don't really appeal to girls, in the same way at least.

Of the two options, I would have to say there are less books for them, because they don't read as much, though.

Children learn from a young age what their gender roles are. My five year old (boy) refuses to read anything with fairies, teddy bears, and even female lead characters, and actively discourages his three-year old sister from reading his books about Thomas, or building sites, farms, police and fire services etc. She (3 year old DD) will distinguish between every toy or book, saying "that's for boys" or "that's for girls", which is a shame, and I try to discourage it, but that's the way it is, whether it's genetic, or due to more sociallly learned factors.

Boys are also portrayed and encouraged to be more active, running around, climbing on the furniture, playing "noisy" games, but girls are portrayed and encouraged instead to be quiet and polite, to sit still, to develop caring and nurturing skills, and thus, be more sensitive.

 

[TheRedNewt]

I found an interesting article regarding the difference between boys and girls in reading from the University of North Carolina. However, one part was particualrly interesting:

Encouragement for boys as readers can benefit girls as well. Rather than pitting boys' needs against girls' or reinforcing the very stereotypes that can discourage boys from reading traditional literature, many researchers suggest comparing this to the problem of "girls in math." Through exploration of proficiencies and attitudes, math educators developed new approaches that serve both girls and boys in the math class.

This struck a chord with me because I remember having one math teacher who specifically catered to the girls in the class. It was a small class. but it essentially turned into the teacher working with the girls and literally ignoring the guys. The teacher in question was obviously not working to benefit both groups, and in her attempt to give specific attention to the girls hurt both groups. Most of the girls moved to a lower math class (there were four levels with the upper 2 being a course ahead), and the guys found themselves having to relearn many things because we never understood the new material with our previous teacher. However with a better teacher, the girls all had high A's the next year, and the guys actually understood why most of what they learned worked. The teacher may have had good intentions, but in an attempt to help one group, both were hurt. The same thing could easily happen with an English teacher trying to cater to just the boys.

 

[-Carlos-]

In school (not college) I would hide the fact that I was an avid reader. Other males see it as a girly thing to be doing. This logic escapes me.

 

[SevenWritez]

Compensation is to kick their ass. Then laugh about it.