[the truth]

Originally Posted by jaxie

As the mother of a son and someone who has worked in education and children's literature, I believe that part of the problem is that boys are not encouraged to read enough which is an activity girls seem to enjoy. Reading broadens horizon and widens vocabulary. Good reading skills open the doors to all other educational subjects. I know people say that gender is something created more by nurture and society than nature but whether it's nature or nurture on the whole little boys in my experience are more active than little girls. Little boys are doers and want to run, jump, tumble and get their hands dirty and generally can't sit still more than little girls who seem more able to sit still and more inclined to sedate sort of play. In a nursery you are more likely to see a girl interested in games and puzzles where the boys all want to be outside on the slides and trikes. That doesn't mean there aren't exceptions or that girls don't like outside play but generally little boys are more hectic than little girls.

I found through asking questions that very few primary age father's read to their sons or listened to them read. The male role model in many families does seem to leave this job to the woman in the family. Primary school is predominantly a female environment. Boys do need some male role models to encourage them with reading.

My own sons' father would rather play computer games with him than listen to him read. Computer games can play a part in education. But the male in the family needs to step up more and read with his children, boys and girls alike. My son was a good reader and spelled well but was reluctant and I worked hard to get him interested. Finding the right books was important and also found audio books while he was going to sleep were very valuable in encouraging his interest. I remember my son enjoying the audio book for the first book in the His Dark Materials series so much that he read the rest of the series rather than waiting for the next audio to come out because he wanted to know what happened next.

I do think that a big thing that has changed in society is that boys have less male role models when it comes to learning and non sport related activities. There are a lot more single parent families these days than in the past which means some boys have a father they rarely see at all if ever.

What I'd like to see is an initiative where people like male sporting stars and Olympians go into schools and read to and with children. I think something like that would give a tremendous boost to boys in education.

great post I agree with every word, bravo
ps if Id written it some posters would have called me sexist because a man isnt allowed to say these things in this PC basket case of a culture