Putting the “Boy Crisis” in Context

Harvard Education Letter. Volume 26, Number 4
July/August 2010

Putting the “Boy Crisis” in Context
Finding solutions to boys’ reading problems may require looking beyond gender

This is an interesting article by Michael Sadowski. Mention is made of the “Matthew Effect,” espoused by psychologist Keith Stanovich. This effect is harmful to boys who learn to read later than girls with an accumulation of deficits for them vis-a-vis many girls who press further ahead early on, creating a gap that's hard to bridge as children progress through school.

What's interesting to consider (that Sadowski considers, as well as Harvard Educator, Catherine Snow) is the role that reading well early on makes and how this then implicates making the curriculum more "gender relevant" by providing books and reading, generally, that are more appealing to boys (including violence and sports).

Where does race come into all of this?

Where does scripted, regimented curriculum come into this?

Interesting debate about boy-girl differences.

=Angela