Boys and the Reading Gap: Why Does it Exist?

Reading is “a girl thing” is what a male student of mine recently told me, his Reading teacher. This is not the first time an excuse like this has been hurled my way, and the remark does have some truth to it, according to recent statistics. Boys are increasingly falling behind in Reading, and it’s not due to inability or intelligence levels in our male population. Disinterest in reading is a major contributing factor in our young male students’ reading success.

After the picture books are shelved and reading becomes a less visual endeavor, boys typically lose interest if the subject of what they

are reading does not captivate them. Boys as a whole appreciate action, adventure, comic books and let’s face it, crude stuff like blood and gore. Titles and subject matter that would make a girl cringe are what boys go crazy for and demand. Titles that many teachers view as having no "literary merit" are what boys fight over and enjoy. Books with crazy facts, like Guinness Book of World Records and books that are about science or war. Typically, female teachers tend to stay away from books of this subject matter, and as a result, boys suffer.

Boys see their female peers captivated and entranced by romantic, fanciful tales and begin to believe they “aren’t getting it, and that reading must really be “a girl thing.” When interest falters, reading time for pleasure certainly diminishes in a boy’s life. Like any skill, reading must be practiced and fine-tuned. Only

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