Dear Parents,
As a College constantly looking for ways to attain better education
outcomes for boys we are always on the lookout for new research and information
regarding boys learning. Below is an excerpt from the website ARACY Fatherhood
Research Network Blog. With Father’s Day looming it is an opportune time for us
to all reflect on the important role fathers play in the lives of their
children. Below Professor Trevor Cairney hints at the important role fathers
play in helping their sons acquire a love of reading.
Food for thought
Kind Regards
Mel Bishop
“The Challenge of Boys and Reading
We have known for a long time that girls seem to
make a faster start in reading. Many have explained this by pointing to the
fact that girls are usually faster to speak. They arrive at school more
articulate and with more extensive vocabularies than boys. However, in the last
2-3 decades the gap between the literacy achievements of boys and girls has
widened in favour of girls. We know we have a problem with boys’ education and
literacy, but what do we do about it?
Helping boys to become readers
I have shared some of these ideas in a previous
post on my blog ‘Literacy, Families and Learning’. Let me
share what I see as four fundamental things about boys and literacy:
1. Boys are more likely to be attracted to books
and reading when the books and the reading event (whether at school, or reading
with mum and dad) offer opportunities to discover, experiment, explore, learn
new things, make them laugh, consider the curious or unusual, help them to play,
see how things work, share trivia tricks and facts with other boys, explore the
unknown, and generally do interesting things.
2. Boys need to understand the value of story
and storytelling from an early age. This can be acquired through early books, the
stories you share with them (anecdotes, memories, tall tales etc), traditional
stories and fantasy. Until boys value story, they will struggle to cope with
reading.
3. Fathers as well as mothers need to learn how
to listen to and read with your sons. Reading to and with you should be
enjoyable, not boring or a chore.
4. Fathers have a key role to play in boys’
literacy and learning development
Professor Trevor Cairney
The Master of New College and
a Professor of Education in the School of Education at the University of New
South Wales.”
