Yeah this is gonna make reading seem more like a punishment than anything. Boy the guy who wrote that must have been a total moron.
Deprive boys of video games to make them read...
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Time to provide more evidence from the Escapist that the writer of that article is full of shit. I played video games and read as a kid. The trick really is finding something that the kid actually wants to read. Bribing them won't work, but neither will taking away all other forms of entertainment. One causes them to read purely for the sake of getting a reward, and the other causes them to resent their parents more (and probably earlier) than they already will.
And for the record, Treasure Island is a damn good book.
And for the record, Treasure Island is a damn good book.
http://www.city-journal.org/html/16_3_schools_boys.html
I thought this was a good rebuttal post ion the comments. I remember being a special-ed student from forth grade to eleventh grade in. There was no real reason, for it either, when i finally got out they said there was no actual reason why we put you in here for so long, you could have been done in ninth grade.
What ever happen to stories about Daniel Boone, or Davy Crockett. Introduce the American Folk Heroes back into the culture I am sure there will be an interest in reading. Or is that sexist?
I thought this was a good rebuttal post ion the comments. I remember being a special-ed student from forth grade to eleventh grade in. There was no real reason, for it either, when i finally got out they said there was no actual reason why we put you in here for so long, you could have been done in ninth grade.
What ever happen to stories about Daniel Boone, or Davy Crockett. Introduce the American Folk Heroes back into the culture I am sure there will be an interest in reading. Or is that sexist?
I'm a boy. I play tons of video games. I also read tons of books
They're my two favourite past times
That being said I don't think this is a rational idea. Forcing someone to do something they don't like is like pulling teeth. I just do not seeing this idea working out well.
Besides, I don't think it is important to get young boys to read more, I think it would be more important what they do read. If you got them reading more, but they were just reading mindless garbage, is that really accomplishing anything in the end?
They're my two favourite past times
That being said I don't think this is a rational idea. Forcing someone to do something they don't like is like pulling teeth. I just do not seeing this idea working out well.
Besides, I don't think it is important to get young boys to read more, I think it would be more important what they do read. If you got them reading more, but they were just reading mindless garbage, is that really accomplishing anything in the end?
"The secret to raising boys who read, I submit, is pretty simple?keep electronic media, especially video games and recreational Internet, under control (that is to say, almost completely absent). Then fill your shelves with good books."
I found this quite funny. I remember a friend who i went through middle school with and his parents followed this like a dog to a car made of bacon. Whenever he came to my house all he wanted to do was play super nintendo, literally. He was not bored enough to read, just bored enough to walk to his friends houses and play video games. When he started to turn into a brat and tried to force people off of there systems, my parents and several of our friends parents called his parents to let them know what he was doing. Doing this to your child wont make them read, it will however make them into a asshole.
Just my two cents and a personal experience to add to the discussion.
I found this quite funny. I remember a friend who i went through middle school with and his parents followed this like a dog to a car made of bacon. Whenever he came to my house all he wanted to do was play super nintendo, literally. He was not bored enough to read, just bored enough to walk to his friends houses and play video games. When he started to turn into a brat and tried to force people off of there systems, my parents and several of our friends parents called his parents to let them know what he was doing. Doing this to your child wont make them read, it will however make them into a asshole.
Just my two cents and a personal experience to add to the discussion.
My parents read books (not kids stories, actual books) to me when I was young. long story short, I now read a book per week (provided I have ones that I haven't read) and sometimes try to read as I'm playing games.
slightly off topic, WOW fixed my spelling.
slightly off topic, WOW fixed my spelling.
Don't bribe kids with video games to make them read. That's just gonna piss them off, and make them resent the act of reading.
Do what my parents did. Have video games AND books readily available. That way I can choose what I wanted to do. The result of this? A guy with a healthy love of video games, who also happens to have a couple of shelves stacked so high with books I'm considering purchasing a bookcase or two.
Do what my parents did. Have video games AND books readily available. That way I can choose what I wanted to do. The result of this? A guy with a healthy love of video games, who also happens to have a couple of shelves stacked so high with books I'm considering purchasing a bookcase or two.
Irrational and simply stupid way of thinking. Everyone else said it already, but you can't force something on somebody and expect anything good out of it. Find a way to make them enjoy it, otherwise you're in for a world of resentment and nothing else.
it sounds stupid! I got back in to books because I HAVE to read them and I didn't need to get bribed
It seems the author knows a lot about books. In fact I believe he is a publisher. It is of course not being presumptuous to assume he wants more kids to read. He does not, however, know very much about the video game and electronics medium. The internet largely consists of reading material for boys to read. I myself spend countless hours surfing through wikipedia, blogs and news websites. I may not read many books, but I am confident in saying I read a lot.
Having young boys withdrawn from all electronic pass times - such as the internet or video games - in the hopes that this will force them to read books is not a good idea. It will plant a hatred for reading, and will consistently lead to the conclusion that books are a last resort. If a parent wants their boy (and girl) to read, he should be given books and encouraged to read by raising him to love them. Read him the tale of wild adventures and appeal to his sense of imagination and love to escape reality - the same qualities that draw them to video games in the first place. Do not, however, lock them in a room filled with books and expect them to love reading. It does not work. As a footnote, not everybody wants to read. If your boy doesn't enjoy reading after attempting to immerse him in literature yourself, be sure he's well educated and let him enjoy video games and electronics responsibly - they're not the works of the devil. No, that's rock and roll. Evil, satanic music.
Having young boys withdrawn from all electronic pass times - such as the internet or video games - in the hopes that this will force them to read books is not a good idea. It will plant a hatred for reading, and will consistently lead to the conclusion that books are a last resort. If a parent wants their boy (and girl) to read, he should be given books and encouraged to read by raising him to love them. Read him the tale of wild adventures and appeal to his sense of imagination and love to escape reality - the same qualities that draw them to video games in the first place. Do not, however, lock them in a room filled with books and expect them to love reading. It does not work. As a footnote, not everybody wants to read. If your boy doesn't enjoy reading after attempting to immerse him in literature yourself, be sure he's well educated and let him enjoy video games and electronics responsibly - they're not the works of the devil. No, that's rock and roll. Evil, satanic music.
Wht stoopid dumbfuck dick cheese fartsmeller thot this plan up? [/tongue-in-cheek]
I have an idea: give them a book about something they like. Dinosaurs is usually a good place to start. If not that, robo-dinosaurs. If the book has pictures, that's a great start. Gradually introduce books with fewer and fewer pictures while remaining on the favoured subject. It may not be the best plan, but you'll be a million years ahead of this idiocy.
I have an idea: give them a book about something they like. Dinosaurs is usually a good place to start. If not that, robo-dinosaurs. If the book has pictures, that's a great start. Gradually introduce books with fewer and fewer pictures while remaining on the favoured subject. It may not be the best plan, but you'll be a million years ahead of this idiocy.
She actually makes some perfectly valid points. But ultimately, reading is a behaviour and like any behaviour is overwhelmingly the result of role modelling. Perhaps the parents wanting their children to read classic literature should consider how much of it they read themselves.
Reading needs to start early, parents who read to their kids have kids who grow up to read. It isn't exactly rocket science, but our world seems to shun simple solutions at the moment if they are not advancing someone's agenda.
I agree with the librarian at the beginning of the article, just get them reading and then worry about what they are reading later. My first year English professor announced that if we took only one thing away from his class it should be "read anything you can get your hands on." If it takes books about boogers and farts to show kids that reading is awesome, then so be it. Hell, even Shakespeare threw in some bodily function humour to keep the crowd interested.
But Mr. Spence, who happens to be the president of his own publishing company, would like to blame video games. Mr. Spence is so committed to raising the standards of children's literature that his publishing company publishes exactly zero children's books. Unless Left Illusions: An Intellectual Odyssey and Forced Exit:The Slippery Slope from Assisted Suicide to Legalized Murder are intended for young boys.
I agree with the librarian at the beginning of the article, just get them reading and then worry about what they are reading later. My first year English professor announced that if we took only one thing away from his class it should be "read anything you can get your hands on." If it takes books about boogers and farts to show kids that reading is awesome, then so be it. Hell, even Shakespeare threw in some bodily function humour to keep the crowd interested.
But Mr. Spence, who happens to be the president of his own publishing company, would like to blame video games. Mr. Spence is so committed to raising the standards of children's literature that his publishing company publishes exactly zero children's books. Unless Left Illusions: An Intellectual Odyssey and Forced Exit:The Slippery Slope from Assisted Suicide to Legalized Murder are intended for young boys.
This will backfire BADLY. You can't force kids to read. And trying to force them makes them even more resistant. The best strategy is to make them see books as equally valid and important in their lives, rather than mutually exclusive to TV/internet/games, etc.
I read constantly as a kid; the same dozen Garfield collections over-and-over again. I was fairly resistant to new stuff until high school when I was so disgusted with my school readings that I went to the library and said "give me ANYTHING else!"
I read constantly as a kid; the same dozen Garfield collections over-and-over again. I was fairly resistant to new stuff until high school when I was so disgusted with my school readings that I went to the library and said "give me ANYTHING else!"