How to Raise Boys Who Read

September 29, 2010 | Posted in: Class Updates

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Parents often ask me how they can motivate their kids to read more.  In recent years, this seems to have become a bigger issue for parents of boys than parents of girls.  My advice has always been simple – let them read what interests them.  If that’s Captain Underpants (<shudder>), so be it.  It’s still reading.  But there’s more to it than that.  This outstanding article was recently published in the Wall Street Journal, and it explains what else might play a role.  (Parents, before having your sons peek at this article, beware that it lists lots of other titles or book series that seem to make Captain Underpants look downright classy by comparison.  Never have I seen the words “butt” and “fart” used so much in a serious article!)  Here’s a sample of the article:

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.”

To read the rest of the article, click here.