![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Why I fear for future generations...
Feb. 22nd, 2006 10:29 amTwo nights ago, I was approached at the bookstore by a woman who wanted to find a book for her 10-year-old son. I asked the typical questions, "What does he like to read?" "What is he into?" "What kind of things does he like?"
The woman then listed me a bunch of computer games that her son plays and I was unfamiliar with most of them. Finally, she was able to tell me that he enjoyed reading "Captain Underpants" and I was able to make some suggestions based on this.
Boys are not reading. This is becoming more and more of an issue at the bookstore. People are constantly asking me what I can recommend for boys, and fortunately, there have been several books created for "reluctant readers", targetted for kids who don't like to read, or who read below their level. There are a lot of books written for girls to help them do well in school, and deal with friends and body image and such. By contrast, I have seen very little written for boys.
It's not just that boys are not reading. I know that literacy has probably decreased in young women as well. As someone who grew up in a household governed by two social workers who worked with youth, I've always had an interest in child and youth culture, as anyone who reads this blog has probably noticed. I also have a lot of friends who are educators or who write novels for young adults. While employed as a General Assignment Reporter at The Wainwright Review, I covered the educational beats as well as youth issues. And what it boils to is that young women are now kicking the asses of young men. They are doing better in school, and have better communication skills and confidence. They are effectively surpassing boys in most areas. A lot of university programs (not all) have high numbers of female applicants and students.
I'm not saying that female achievement is bad. I'm very happy with it. But it does make me concerned for future generations. If communication skills continue to decrease among men, who still hold a lot of the positions in power, what does this mean for the women and children of the future? How is the world going to shift? You can say that people will rely even more on technology, but I don't personally believe that technology will be able to override effective communication skills. I also know that many parents who value literacy and social skills will continue to educate their sons in these areas and pass these valuable skills on.
Will the young boys who are literate, articulate and intelligent become future leaders? Will women take roles of power? Will we be able to make this happen? How will society be affected?
(I think I need to go eat something, so I hope this makes sense. I might edit this later.)
The woman then listed me a bunch of computer games that her son plays and I was unfamiliar with most of them. Finally, she was able to tell me that he enjoyed reading "Captain Underpants" and I was able to make some suggestions based on this.
Boys are not reading. This is becoming more and more of an issue at the bookstore. People are constantly asking me what I can recommend for boys, and fortunately, there have been several books created for "reluctant readers", targetted for kids who don't like to read, or who read below their level. There are a lot of books written for girls to help them do well in school, and deal with friends and body image and such. By contrast, I have seen very little written for boys.
It's not just that boys are not reading. I know that literacy has probably decreased in young women as well. As someone who grew up in a household governed by two social workers who worked with youth, I've always had an interest in child and youth culture, as anyone who reads this blog has probably noticed. I also have a lot of friends who are educators or who write novels for young adults. While employed as a General Assignment Reporter at The Wainwright Review, I covered the educational beats as well as youth issues. And what it boils to is that young women are now kicking the asses of young men. They are doing better in school, and have better communication skills and confidence. They are effectively surpassing boys in most areas. A lot of university programs (not all) have high numbers of female applicants and students.
I'm not saying that female achievement is bad. I'm very happy with it. But it does make me concerned for future generations. If communication skills continue to decrease among men, who still hold a lot of the positions in power, what does this mean for the women and children of the future? How is the world going to shift? You can say that people will rely even more on technology, but I don't personally believe that technology will be able to override effective communication skills. I also know that many parents who value literacy and social skills will continue to educate their sons in these areas and pass these valuable skills on.
Will the young boys who are literate, articulate and intelligent become future leaders? Will women take roles of power? Will we be able to make this happen? How will society be affected?
(I think I need to go eat something, so I hope this makes sense. I might edit this later.)
![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif){kind=small}
