In addition to literacy being the foundation of all
learning, reading for pleasure has been shown to improve performance at school
in all subjects, including mathematics. It is therefore of the utmost
importance that boys not only learn to read but enjoy reading. Fathers have an
important part to play in boys achieving this goal.
Most
fathers would like to see their sons do well in school, but many are in the
dark about of the best way of helping them. Men usually
leave matters to do with school and reading up to the mothers, only getting
involved when things are going wrong, when they tend to take a heavy-handed
approach. Unfortunately, when it comes to reading, that can have the opposite
of the intended effect.
Volumes have been written about methods
of teaching children to read, and hundreds of hours have been spent researching
how children learn, but how a person actually learns to read is still a
mystery. Methods go in and out of fashion, and one set of research contradicts
the findings of another. But one observation remains constant— a child learns best in an atmosphere free
of stress, in the company of a supportive and caring individual. Badgering
and harassing a child, or otherwise communicating anxiety will result in the
child having an adverse emotional attitude towards learning.
Fathers are quite likely unaware of the strong influence they
have on their sons’ reading. Boys look up to their fathers, whether those
fathers live with them, or see them at frequent or infrequent intervals. Boys
want to be like them. If fathers are seen to be reading for pleasure, and if
fathers read stories to their young sons, these boys will want to read, too. If
not, they won’t see reading as important. Fathers who scorn the activity of
reading, and express sentiments such as that reading is a waste of time will
certainly make boys lose interest.
All negative reactions to boys’ attempts at reading, such as
shouting, expressing disappointment, or walking away, are likely to have
damaging effects. One boy I was
attempting to help with reading told me that his father beat him because he
couldn’t read. No wonder he couldn’t read! Instead of seeing reading as a
pleasurable experience, any attempts he made would be accompanied by feelings
of anxiety and fear. A father who praises all his son’s attempts at reading
will be rewarded by further efforts by the boy.
Even if a father himself cannot read, or is a poor reader,
he can still influence his son in the right direction, by expressing regret
about his own lack of competency and encouraging his son to read to him.
Important also is a father’s attendance at PTA meetings, where they can hear
how other parents are helping their children. At one such meeting about literacy, at Chetwood Memorial Primary School, a father told how he likes to play football with his son. He also likes to read,
so they read before playing football. Even
if the son sees football as a reward for reading, it will still have a positive
effect.
At the time of that meeting, I was trying to help eight
students with their reading. The parents of all of them had been specially
invited to that meeting. Only one parent came - a mother. No amount of money,
or input from institutions or organizations, could achieve such a positive
result in promoting literacy in boys as fathers’ encouragement and affirmation.
My post on Boys' Reading makes some other suggestions about why boys don't like to read and what can be done about it. At the time of writing, I hadn't considered fathers' influence at all, but it may be the one missing link in all this discussion.
My post on Boys' Reading makes some other suggestions about why boys don't like to read and what can be done about it. At the time of writing, I hadn't considered fathers' influence at all, but it may be the one missing link in all this discussion.
2 comments:
Great post on the importance of dads and their importance with reading. Readers Are Leaders - Buy a Boy a Book.
Thanks, Eddie. 'Buy a boy a book' has a catchy rhythm, easy to remember.Let's all buy a boy a book for International Book Giving Day, February 14,2012
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