Comments on: buggers and farts

By: trishcabobb

trishcabobb — Wed, 18 Apr 2007 03:54:57 +0000

One article I read, suggested that school libraries have shelves strictly to attract boys featuring books like The Outsiders, Aragon, and new graphic novels. The books would have a more “masculine” theme and encourage boys to break that social stereotype that boys do not read. I don’t know if boys could always read “boy” books, but maybe a system like the literature circle could be implemented where students can group together according to the texts, genres, and themes they enjoy reading. Not everyone would be reading the exact same book all the time, but I think the lessons would still be beneficial. The teacher could ask students to write quick-writes and find gender stereotypes within their text and compare it to the characters of other texts and other literature circles.
I agree. Reading books about blood and buggers is better than not reading. Maybe eventually the boys will develop an open mind to literature and continue to read outside the classroom.

By: That's What Matt Said. . . « What has two thumbs and is ready to blog? This guy!

Wed, 11 Apr 2007 04:50:19 +0000

[...] Buggers and Farts [...]

By: matt4386

matt4386 — Thu, 01 Feb 2007 05:59:00 +0000

I definitely agree that it is important for teachers to keep the students interest with literature that grabs the attention of the students, but I think for an adolescent, there needs to be some boundaries as well. I’m not positive if you’re speaking about younger males, but for older males, it is important for the teacher to not only engage the attention of the reader with certain books, but also exercise the students mind and help them process and use critical thinking. Male readers are going to need to mature into novels and I think that is a major issue when you discuss the loss of male readers versus female readers. Since females mature at an earlier age, they are able to comprehend the complexities of more novels than the male’s immature mind can handle. Does this mean a gender split for reading assignments? Not necessarily. Teachers need to choose assigned literature wisely in order to avoid isolating either gender. They need to slowly work the male reader into reading more complex novels without forcing complicated books on males early on. With female readers, the teacher needs to help them sort out their new mature minds by providing literature that stimulates them mentally. Although males and females may have different tastes when reading, it is the teacher’s job to choose novels that interest both genders.