Boys and Reading

Nothing new. But it reminds me what wonderful and important work Jon Scieszka does. I also think it's important not to take for granted how crucial a MALE reader role model can be. Even the librarian in this video is female. Don't get me wrong; I'm sure she's AWESOME at her job (it seems like it from the video!), but how many male librarians are there in elementary schools? How many male TEACHERS are there in elementary schools, for that matter? And how many dads read at home? And I'm not just talking about reading TO your children (which is of course super-important, too), but reading IN FRONT OF your children, for yourself. Books. Newspapers. Magazines. Whatever. Reading is perceived as work, as learning, as uncool. And it is the former two, but it is NOT the latter. Reading is important for both boys and girls, but that SUCH a chasm in literacy has developed between them, and has continued to grow, is disheartening and alarming--and I think it has more to do with social perception than it does anything else. Stepping off soapbox now...