What can be done about this, Newkirk wonders in this article, published in 2004. Boys see libraries as a place for girls to go; boys go home and their dads are reading the sports page in newspapers while mom may be reading a novel. And boys are not encouraged to read action and adventure books (even though it is usually their preference), but they are urged to read novels with deep plots and sophisticated character development. Boys spend more time on video games and in computers than girls, and much of what they experience in those genres is action-oriented, and yet in school, they are asked to change, and be quiet, and be serious, like the girls. These traditions lead to cynicism on the part of boys, Newkirk explains. What can a teacher try to do about this problem? One thing Newkirk did was to stop trying to get boys to read boring anthologies, and instead, at least read Sports Illustrated. And they did, which he feels is an important first step forward.

Teachers must do their homework, see what programs have been successful elsewhere, and begin to tackle it right in their own classrooms, with the students they know best - their own.
Works Cited

Folks, Victoria. (2004). Middle School Masculinity: The Rejection of Reading. California English, 9(3), 24-25.

Moss, Gemma. (2000). Raising Boys' Attainment in Reading: some principles for intervention.

Reading, 34(3), 101-106.

Newkirk, Thomas. (2004). The Quiet Crisis in Boys' Literacy. California English, 9(3), 13-16.

Taylor, Donna Lester. (2004). "Not just boring stories": Reconsidering the gender gap for boys.

Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 48(4), 290-298.