Editorial: Is There Really a (Boy) Problem?
Boys are reading—but often not the stuff that’s found in schools
By Brian Kenney, Editor-in-Chief -- School Library Journal, 9/1/2007
Common sense dictates that when the subject turns to gender and learning, it’s best to proceed with caution. Remember the outcry caused by Lawrence Summers—then the president of Harvard University—when he speculated that women were less successful in math and science careers because of the innate differences between the sexes?
Nevertheless, when librarians and teachers talk about boys and reading, they’re a whole lot less cautious. A quiet conversation that began over a decade ago has now evolved into a roar, and no library conference is complete without a program on boys and reading that always ends up being standing room only.
First off, there are many studies and decades of reading scores that document that the biggest gender gap for learning achievement is in literacy. And the problem isn’t just in this country; it’s been demonstrated across the globe, with differences between the genders typically increasing with age.
Second, there is anecdotal evidence. Almost everyone who works with children (as well as many parents) seems challenged, if not stymied, by trying to engage boys in reading, and, especially, sustaining their interest in reading as they grow older.
Some researchers fall on the biological determinism side, believing that there’s something intrinsic in young males (all that surging testosterone?) that motivates them to action, not reading. Researchers on the social constructionist side find that the negative messages about masculinity and reading embedded in our culture are responsible for turning boys off to reading. Leonard Sax, the author of our provocative cover story (“The Boy Problem,” pp. 40–43)—who is both a physician and a psychologist—finds that a variety of factors are driving boys away from books, from the design of education to environmental estrogens to The Simpsons.
Librarians can do a lot to encourage boys to read. For one thing, we can make sure that Shaquille O’Neal on a READ poster isn’t the only male reader that boys encounter (no offense, Shaq!). While we certainly need more diversity in our workforce—including more male librarians in school libraries and children’s rooms—much can be accomplished through programming as well. Both librarian Michael Sullivan’s book Connecting Boys with Books: What Libraries Can Do (ALA, 2003) and author Jon Scieszka’s Web site, Guys Read (www.guysread.com), are loaded with good advice.
We can also create collections that are rich in materials that boys like to read. At the recent American Library Association annual conference in Washington, DC, Lynne McKechnie, of the University of Western Ontario, presented some fascinating research on the secret reading lives of boys. Interviewing nearly 50 boys between the ages of four and 12—and examining their home libraries—she found that boys were reading: nonfiction, game manuals, comic books, and catalogs.
Much of this content isn’t found in libraries, and, sadly, many boys don’t consider it “reading.” For more on how young men can be turned off by traditional literature but still be passionate readers outside of schools (and libraries), see Michael Smith and Jeffrey Wilhelm’s “Reading Don’t Fix No Chevys”: Literacy in the Lives of Young Men (Heinemann, 2002). For suggested titles, check out Kathleen Baxter and Marcia Kochel’s Gotcha for Guys! Nonfiction Books to Get Boys Excited about Reading (reviewed on p. 232).
Whether a boy problem exists or not, one thing is certain: providing diverse reading role models, designing new programming opportunities, and expanding our collections to include both Sweet Valley High and gaming manuals will help solve the kid problem—ensuring that every child who enters our libraries will be welcomed, intrigued, and challenged—regardless of gender.
