Boys to Men

How do you get boys to read, not just any book, but worthwhile books? In this fascinating article appearing in The Wall Street Journal, Thomas Spence recalls the classical purpose of reading, i.e., "training for freedom" and distinguishes it from the modern notion of simply transmitting information, whatever that information may be.

He laments the degree to which so many educators and publishers today have endeavored to connect with boys via boorish literature, thus stooping down to "meet them where they are" rather than elevate their minds and challenging them to be real men, in other words, to grow up and become gentlemen.

Dr. Robert Weis, a psychology professor at Denison University, confirmed this suspicion in a randomized controlled trial of the effect of video games on academic ability. Boys with video games at home, he found, spend more time playing them than reading, and their academic performance suffers substantially. Hard to believe, isn't it, but Science has spoken.

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 offer a final piece of evidence that is perhaps unanswerable: There is no literacy gap between home-schooled boys and girls. How many of these families, do you suppose, have thrown grossology parties?