Sunday, September 26, 2010

Raising Literate Boys

Today I read this article: How to Raise Boys That Read (goes right along with my review of Boys Adrift).

I have to say that I think this article is right on. Our boys and young men are distracted from reading good books. It is not that they are less capable. I believe that all people, regardless of gender, are geniuses in their own right. My job is to bring that genius to the surface.
The appearance of the boy-girl literacy gap happens to coincide with the proliferation of video games and other electronic forms of entertainment over the last decade or two. Boys spend far more time "plugged in" than girls do. Could the reading gap have more to do with competition for boys' attention than with their supposed inability to focus on anything other than outhouse humor? - "How to Raise Boys that Read"
Chris doesn't like books that aren't "real". He wants stories of people who have done heroic things but are real human beings...not super heroes, aliens, or elves. It took me a while to figure this out. Then I stumbled upon Robinson Crusoe. I know...stupid that I didn't think a classic like Robinson Crusoe would interest my son. First of all, I didn't think he could read such a "hard" book (this was two years ago). Second, I thought we needed to "ease our way" up to those kind of books.

Boy was I wrong! (How could I ever be wrong, right?) He loves adventure books about men who are real people, experiencing hardships and trials and overcoming them through ingenuity and hard work. Some of his other favorites in the past year have been Ender's Game, the Sackett Series, and now The Count of Monte Cristo. I'm terribly disappointed in myself for trying to find lower caliber books for my son to read. I should know better. It took me awhile to figure out what types of books were interesting to Chris. Once I figured that out, the rest has fallen into place and I was able to pull several classics from the library shelves that fit his reading interests.

I also realized that our read aloud books needed to be about family oriented people who work together and love each other deeply enough to sacrifice for the good of the family. We finished the Little House on the Prairie series and are almost done with The Hiding Place. I'm planning on starting Little Britches next, which I think will be a family favorite (it is one of mine!). The fathers and young men in these books are hard working people who love their families and treat females with love and respect. Of course, it is a blessing that Mike, as the patriarch of our home, is such a great example of these characteristics as well.

2 comments:

  1. I completely agree with you. Why would boys want to read when they can play video games and read comic books?

    In the last year I have removed dwaddle out of my house and have only seen amazing success. My 10 year old is currently devouring the Narnia series and my 9 year is flying through the Hobbit.

    The key really is to find good and worthy books that are in subjects that interest them.

    My kids loved The Hiding Place and Silas Marner the most last year in our read a louds.

    Tell Chris I LOVE the Sacketts too. I think the top Louis L'Amour books should be "required" reading for all youth boys. So many powerful lessons there.

    Thanks for another wonderful post Celeste! As a mother of 3 boys I appreciate these thoughts.

    -Deanna : )

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  2. I LOVE this post! (Don't I say that about everything you write?) :0) I think Gannon (my oldest son) will feel this way about books as he gets older! He seems to be drawn to these same types of stories about hard work, families, nature, etc. We have always been adamant that he not play video games, and I can already see the great blessing that is to him! I appreciate the inspiration you continue to provide for me and my family!

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