It is a two-punch combination, researched-based, that usually works:
First, you want to make sure they do not hear much about the alphabet,
letters, sounds all that right-wing nonsense. They have to learn to read with
sight-words, Dutch words, whole words (all the same thing). You want a whole
lot of commotion, thousands of brightly colored books lying around, and
constant chatter about literacy and being a lifelong reader. All this stuff
convinces parents that their kids, if they are halfway normal, will quickly
learn to read. When they cannot memorize hundreds of sight-words, they know there
is something wrong with them and they give up immediately. In addition, they
keep their mouths shut. Perfect. The silence of the lambs pretty well describes
it.
Second, you have to catch those boys who figure out phonics for themselves and actually make it through the sight-word minefield. Many boys just barely survive; they are on the cusp. You should give them some good comic books or Sports Illustrated for Kids, and they might break through. Nevertheless, you never do that. Here is the secret formula. You say, this book is perfect for you! In addition, you give them books intended for girls about Soft, sensitive, emotional books. Boys hate this stuff. They would rather sleep in mud than have to read books like that. So you can snuff out the last little bit of interest in reading. If some of the boys are hardheaded and keep trying to read, you up the ante. Make sure every recommended book is literarily pretentious, big time! New-Yorker-type books with soft pastel covers and delicate type. Oprah-type books with haunting relationship stories that revolve around strong women. Boys cringe in horror from this stuff. Grown men cringe in horror from this stuff; but they can defend themselves. What can twelve-year-old boys do? Other than, learn to hate books and reading forever.
By this simple, there are four-step program. They are:
1. Just do the opposite of what the schools and elite educators recommend.
This rule is always an infallible guide, throughout the curriculum, especially
so in reading. Ignore all those stories about girls and their feelings. Now we
are getting somewhere.
2. Consider what real men like to read about Adventures, Science, Machines,
Sports and Athletes, War, Business, Mystery, Technology, Animals, Travel,
Sci-fi, History, Famous People, Crime and Police Work, Cowboys, or Soldiers. You
should look at all the choices! In addition, while non-fiction might be a safer
bet than fiction, fiction can work as long as it is about the topics on this
list. Boys love to know how things happened and how things work. They like to
know what people did. Events are interesting, Plans, Decisions, or Victories.
All you have to do is look at the covers of popular comic books, GI Joe, for
example, or Superman or the covers of video games. What do you see? It is about
Heroics, Guns, Action, Fights, or Violent. The literary level equal to or just
beyond such cover art that is what boys want!
3. Find lots of magazines and websites dealing with his hobbies or
interests. Discuss them. Alternatively, you might try this desperate gambit.
Whisper to the boy confidentially that you personally feel most books
recommended by his school seem to be garbage…stuff for girls….stuff you would
never read yourself. Then suggest. Let us go to a big book and magazine store,
and see what looks good. Take him to Barnes & Noble, wander around as long
as possible, look at lots of covers, wait for him to be interested in something
and buy it. At the very least, you can take home Mechanic Illustrated or sports
magazines.
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