Real Men Read at MN High School

Reading isn’t just for girls. It’s cool. It’s very cool. In fact, at Spring Lake Park High School in Minnesota, all the boys know that real men read.

It’s hard to miss this slogan while walking through the school’s hallways. There you’ll find 35 large posters of men enjoying a good read. And these role models aren’t celebrities or authors—they’re real men who the students encounter every day.

There’s one of counselor Don Fineran, a Vietnam war veteran, who’s pictured in front of a Huey helicopter holding a copy of We Were Soldiers Once… and Young (Random, 1992) by Harold G. Moore and Joseph G. Galloway.

And there’s one of physical ed instructor Dean Downs, who moonlights as a disc jockey, enjoying a book called DJ. IT staffer Brandon Taitt is reading a novel, and choir teacher Jeff Wressell is reading Guitar Player magazine.

Media specialist Tori Jensen was always interested in reluctant readers—maybe because she was one herself as a child. So she recently launched the Read Men Read program—and the results have been nothing but positive. From September to November, her library’s circulation has more than tripled from 122 to 432 books.

"The main message has been that guys read, and they can encourage young men to read,” says Jensen, 53, who started asking male faculty and community members last spring if they’d consider appearing in her posters.

Jensen initially had a hard time getting takers, but once the posters went up in the school hallways this fall, there were more volunteers than she’d ever imagined.

It didn’t hurt that Jensen was a personal friend of Minnesota author and former teen librarian Patrick Jones, who was also a guest speaker.

“All of a sudden more and more guys were coming to me saying they might like to be a Real Man,” Jensen laughs, adding that volunteers are expected to do more than pose for a picture—they’re expected to visit classes and booktalk their favorite books, as well as contribute to the Real Men blog.

Before she knew it, the posters were appearing in all of the district’s six schools.

Last month, there was a bookmark contest and winners received Real Men Read T-shirts and books. And on December 13, there’ll be a book fair at a local Barnes & Noble featuring 25 Real Men, who will talk about the books they’re holding in the posters. The bookstore plans to display a table of all the Real Men books, and proceeds from the sale will go to Jensen’s Real Men Read account to buy more books to give away. 

What else is in the works? Jensen plans to start another program that involves high schoolers reading to elementary kids. And next month, she’s having a scavenger hunt that will involve all the Real Men Read posters and the books that are in them.

“We pride ourselves in being a student-centered community that meets or exceeds state averages on statewide testing,” says Jensen. “Our ultimate goal is to meet our district purpose, "High Expectations, High Achievement for All. No Excuses.”

Jensen paid for the program through a $5,000 grant from the Panther Foundation, a local nonprofit organization that promotes education, as well as another $1,000 grant.