Why 'Reading for Joy' Didn't work on Boys

Posted by Norman Bailey on Wednesday, May 7, 2014 Under: Libraries

So does putting reading in the 'for pleasure' category get boys into reading?



I've never been a big fan of the 'Reading For Joy' movement.   So I was really pleased when figure published this week showed that the 'Reading for Pleasure' drive is beginning to bear fruit.  When I heard this my first reaction was, Reading for pleasure' when did that happen.  The last I heard it was called 'Reading of Joy'.  I'm sure there more to this than changing a word but does this have something to do with it's success.


What's in a name


So does the name change have something to do with literacy drive's success?  Could be, and I'll tell you why.  I've always found the 'for joy' labelling a little off-putting. And I feel that many boys, the hardest group to reach when it comes to reading, may feel the same.


I doubt that many boys outside of the Famous Five novels would ever dream of using the word 'Joy'.  I was told off the other day by a 10 year old pupil of mine because I said he had a 'nice' singing voice.  "Nice! That something you'd called an old lady", he said,  "Can't you call it radical'.   Now we don't have to get all trendy vicar about it and call it radical reading.  But I feel a rethink in our approach to getting reluctant boys into reading is worth serious consideration.


Even the 'for pleasure' approach has a serious downside.  I know some people may disagree with me on this but many boys still see reading as boring and uncool.   And I'm not sure that just telling them it's a pleasurable experience will change that. 


Kids take things pretty literally.  By putting books down as pleasure it's now competing with all the other things that a child associates with enjoyment and having fun.  For a boy this box could also be filled with:

  • Football
  • Sweet and Ice cream
  • Cutting worms in half 
  • Playstation
  • Water guns
  • Tormenting girls
  • Tormenting adults


In this company sitting quietly and struggling to keep you concentration focussed while you make it through the latest kiddie potboiler might not be as appealing.  I'm sure there are adults who would also put some of the things on the list ahead of reading a book as a joyful recreational pursuit.  So why do we think children, especially boys, are any different?




Of course we should be encouraging boys to read. But is insisting that they jump for joy at the prospect of delving into the latest kiddies potboiler the only answer?  This approach barely works on girls or adults.   So is there something else we should be doing?


As I fall into the grown-up boy category, I'd like to offer up a few reasons why this latest trend hasn't yielded the desired results.  I'd also like to put forward a few suggestions as to how you can get the little man in your life excited about what lies beneath the standard book jacket.


First thing I want to say is 'I love books'.  Hardly a day goes by without me reading something.   I will visit a library  at least 4 times a week and spend considerable time there reading and researching.   I also have a British Library readers cards.  And, to my wife's consternation, I own a mountain of books.  AsI looks up from my screen I can see my copy of The Chambers 1970 Yearbook, which I've had since that year and refuse to give up.   Also on the bookshelf is: the full Stanislasky series, African folklore,  the Audacity of Hope, Bruce Lee's Toa of Jeet Kune do,  Library of World Poetry and I could go on.   But I do not 'Read for joy in the sense that it's being talked about.


Take a look at the list of books again.  Notice anything?  No fiction.  This is not to say that I don't read fiction.   It's just that they are not my biggest draw.  When it comes to reading fiction I have to say that I prefer to read stage and screenplay to novels. And I don't think that I'm alone in saying that I prefer to be told stories rather than read them.  Be it films, theatre, TV or good old traditional oral storytelling.


The main reason I read for knowledge.  I read to satisfy my curiosity for things.  


Even when I'm reading fiction I'm searching for Information.  An insight into the world or the head of the author.   I seldom read for entertainment purposes.  For the joy of it.  This is not to say I don't get any joy from reading.  I do.   I get immense pleasure from it. But in the found that I now know something I didn't know before. But this is different to reading for joy. Understanding the difference could mean the difference between getting boys into reading and putting them off for life.





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Storybookers

Sing Your Way To Better Health

Does Your Fitness Routine Include Singing?

Did your New Year resolutions include joining a gym – again?  Is the thought of buying all that keep fit gear, doing exercises or even the thought of actually going to the gym, putting you off – again?  Then consider joining a choir instead.

Expert are lining up to convince you that when it comes to giving you a top-to-toe tune up there’s nothing better than a good sing-a-long. For example, do you know how singing can reduce your stress levels or how good it is for your heart and lungs?   And if being able to tone your upper body and sorting out your posture wasn’t enough it’s also going to put a few extra years on your life.

All this from the humble past-time of singing?  

Apparently so.

According to Professor Graham Welch, Chair of Music Education at the Institute of Education, University of London, singing will give you a physical and psychological boost.   For the past 30 years he’s studied the developmental and medical aspects of singing.  

And he states.

“Singing has physical benefits because it is an aerobic activity that increases oxygenation in the blood stream and exercises major muscle groups in the upper body, even when sitting. Singing has psychological benefits because of its normally positive effect in reducing stress levels through the action of the endocrine system which is linked to our sense of emotional well-being.”

So singing is an aerobic exercise.  Well if you have no desire to travel back to the 80s.  Or if you’ve never had a fondness for legwarmers, Lycra and fluorescent sweatbands, then here’s a much cooler alternative.  If only someone had told you sooner.  

Group singing is even better for you

Singing can even help you live longer especially when you join forces with others.   According to the findings of a joint Harvard and Yale study choral singing increased the life expectancy of singers in New Haven, Connecticut. The report concluded that this was because singing promoted both a healthy heart and an enhanced mental state. Another study at the University of California has reported higher levels of immune system proteins in the saliva of choristers after performing a complex Beethoven masterwork.

That explains what happen at a one of my voice workshops recently.  One visitor had this to say about her experience, “Who would think that breathing and singing exercises could be so tiring, my muscles hurt from inside.” I did panic a bit here because I don’t want to wear people out and put them off singing.  I was pleased that her next words were, “Had a lot of fun, thanks for great experience.”  Phew!

Thank goodness she got some of the psychologically benefits as well.  She went on to say, “The breathing exercises, tuning into the moment (when focusing where the sound vibrates), plus not feeling cautious how you sound gave me such huge sense of freedom and being in the now.   I think people like me who are constantly busy would appreciate the opportunity to pause for the moment and sing their heart out.”  And finished by describing the session as ‘Exercise for the soul.  So spiritual benefits too it seems.  I’ll have to look into this a bit more.

So sing..sing..sing.

If you don’t feel ready for the choir thing, then start by singing along with your favourite tunes.  Doesn’t matter what you sound like. The singing fairy doesn’t care.  She’ll bestow her blessing on you no matter what.

If you do want to improve your voice then take a few lessons or join a choir that teaches you how to sing.  They don’t all do that apparently, so make sure you ask before you join.  And remember the main point of all this is to have fun.

Give it a go.  I’d love to hear how you get on.

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