Why boys' literacy skills lag behind girls' and how to bridge the reading gap [View all]

Janae and Joseph Wise's Washington state home is a shrine to their passion for reading.

"We have books everywhere," said Janae, a professional blogger, fitness instructor and mother of four young children. As young parents, the Wises built up an impressive home library. Exposing children to books, they assumed, would naturally lead them to love reading. It hasn't quite worked out that way.

"My boys just aren't that interested in reading," Janae Wise said. Her 7-year-old son Hyrum in particular has a difficult time sitting still long enough to finish a story. "I kept asking myself, 'Why doesn't he love reading?' I have to fight this urge I have to force him to read."

The Wises' experience is more than just an anecdotal narrative.

"Parents come into the library every day concerned that their boys aren't reading," said Linda Brilz, youth services supervisor at Boise Public Library in Idaho. But the problem is bigger than "not reading." Across the country and around the world studies show that young men lag behind their female peers in literacy skills by significant margins.

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http://www.deseretnews.com/article/765592913/Many-working-to-bridge-wide-gender-reading-gap-in-the-US.html?pg=all

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There's some interesting speculation in there as to the cause of this discrepancy.

My dad read to me from a young age and got me in to reading for fun. And I'm very grateful for it.

I can't think of a single time since I learned to read in which I didn't have at least one book I was working on. It's sad to me that there are so many who see reading as a chore they can eventually be rid of once they get out of school. Sad and frankly this is going to cost us in the long run as it means we aren't fully utilizing all the available talent we have as a nation.

The fact that our schools are failing boys means at least half the population won't be performing at it's peak potential. That's a very concerning trend.