Matching boys with books | csmonitor.com: "If you want to get boys to read, assign F. Scott Fitzgerald's 'The Great Gatsby.' So say students at the all-boys Haverford School in suburban Philadelphia.
The reasons the boys give the novel high marks? It's short. Its characters and scenes move fast. The prose is terse, the style vivid and lively. Several male characters are 'at sea,' so to speak, despite lives which at first glance appear glamorous and successful. What's more, it's a tale that sparks questions about values and meaning at an age when boys themselves are searching.
'Everybody loves 'The Great Gatsby,' ' says Robert Peck, who since 1973 has taught English at the 1,000-student K-12 private school.
But the vast majority of assigned-reading novels are not such a slam-dunk with boy readers. Getting boys to read is an exercise that stumps many an educator.
Not only do boys consistently test lower than girls on reading, but they are well known to be reluctant readers. Some teachers suggest that the problem is only getting worse - that boys today have more distractions, particularly electronic ones - and are even less likely to come to class ready to get excited about a book.
Researchers and educators blame the gap between books and boys on everything from a built-in fidgetiness to low expectations to a lifelong association of reading with their mothers, teachers, librarians - all female role models.
But now more are suggesting that the problem may not lie entirely within the boys themselves. Some educators believe that the way schools teach reading tends to favor girls, both in terms of teaching style and reading materials chosen. It's a concern that has pushed teachers to work harder to both find materials that boys like to read, and to find more 'boy-friendly' ways to present that material.
'Boys have a more tactile, 'hands-on' learning style,' and they favor subject matter which reflects that, says Linda Milliken, reading specialist at Chester County Intermediate Unit near Philadelphia. 'They like lots of nature topics - bugs, dinosaurs, how things work,' she explains. 'They like to identify with a character who has his life in control.'
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