CCBC-Net Archives
A washingtonpost.com article from: druthgo_at_sonic.net
- Contemporary messages sorted: [ by date ] [ by subject ] [ by author ]
From: druthgo_at_sonic.net <druthgo>
Date: Mon, 21 Feb 2005 13:46:57 -0500 (EST)
You have been sent this message from druthgo at sonic.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com
Personal Message:
More on gender and reading...
Reading Rebuttal
The Post has run three letters that incorrectly characterize what Mark Bauerlein and I wrote in our Jan. 25 op? column, "Why Johnny Won't Read."
The fact is that on average, girls are doing increasingly better in school, while on average boys are doing increasingly worse. Something is wrong, and the column urged a close look at the literary texts assigned to boys in the classroom to find out if boys are being given literature that motivates them to read.
Yet Pat Schroeder [Feb. 4] said that we claimed that reading rates for boys have fallen because of political correctness. We did not use the term political correctness.
Katherine Paterson and Steven Kellogg said in their letter of the same day that
"hundreds of books for boys" are being published. We never claimed that wasn't so. But it is unclear how much of that literature is assigned in today's classroom and whether it appeals to boys of all races and ethnicities.
Finally, regarding David Sadker's Feb. 12 letter [Free for All], in which he discussed the effect of boy-friendly literature 30 years ago, we asserted that a gender gap dates back some 150 years but has widened considerably in the past 10 years. Mr. Sadker charged us with "attacking girls," yet our focus was on what boys are being given to read. If he knows of studies that "confirm" his claim that white males dominate the literary texts that boys are assigned in kindergarten through 12th grade, he should tell all of us -- including the researchers who shaped the proposed National Assessment of Educational Progress study -- how to locate those studies.
SANDRA STOTSKY
Research Scholar
Northeastern University
Boston
Would you like to send this article to a friend? Go to 30 05Feb20&sent=no&referrer=emailarticle
Visit washingtonpost.com today for the latest in:
News - http://www.washingtonpost.com/?referrer=emailarticle
Politics - http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/politics/?referrer=emailarticle
Sports - http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/sports/?referrer=emailarticle
Entertainment - http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/artsandliving/entertainmentguide/?referrer=emai larticle
Travel - http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/travel/?referrer=emailarticle
Technology - http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/technology/?referrer=emailarticle
Want the latest news in your inbox? Check out washingtonpost.com's e-mail newsletters:
larticle
Washingtonpost.Newsweek Interactive c/o E-mail Customer Care 1515 N. Courthouse Road Arlington, VA 22201
? 2004 The Washington Post Company
Received on Mon 21 Feb 2005 12:46:57 PM CST
Date: Mon, 21 Feb 2005 13:46:57 -0500 (EST)
You have been sent this message from druthgo at sonic.net as a courtesy of washingtonpost.com
Personal Message:
More on gender and reading...
Reading Rebuttal
The Post has run three letters that incorrectly characterize what Mark Bauerlein and I wrote in our Jan. 25 op? column, "Why Johnny Won't Read."
The fact is that on average, girls are doing increasingly better in school, while on average boys are doing increasingly worse. Something is wrong, and the column urged a close look at the literary texts assigned to boys in the classroom to find out if boys are being given literature that motivates them to read.
Yet Pat Schroeder [Feb. 4] said that we claimed that reading rates for boys have fallen because of political correctness. We did not use the term political correctness.
Katherine Paterson and Steven Kellogg said in their letter of the same day that
"hundreds of books for boys" are being published. We never claimed that wasn't so. But it is unclear how much of that literature is assigned in today's classroom and whether it appeals to boys of all races and ethnicities.
Finally, regarding David Sadker's Feb. 12 letter [Free for All], in which he discussed the effect of boy-friendly literature 30 years ago, we asserted that a gender gap dates back some 150 years but has widened considerably in the past 10 years. Mr. Sadker charged us with "attacking girls," yet our focus was on what boys are being given to read. If he knows of studies that "confirm" his claim that white males dominate the literary texts that boys are assigned in kindergarten through 12th grade, he should tell all of us -- including the researchers who shaped the proposed National Assessment of Educational Progress study -- how to locate those studies.
SANDRA STOTSKY
Research Scholar
Northeastern University
Boston
Would you like to send this article to a friend? Go to 30 05Feb20&sent=no&referrer=emailarticle
Visit washingtonpost.com today for the latest in:
News - http://www.washingtonpost.com/?referrer=emailarticle
Politics - http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/politics/?referrer=emailarticle
Sports - http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/sports/?referrer=emailarticle
Entertainment - http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/artsandliving/entertainmentguide/?referrer=emai larticle
Travel - http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/travel/?referrer=emailarticle
Technology - http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/technology/?referrer=emailarticle
Want the latest news in your inbox? Check out washingtonpost.com's e-mail newsletters:
larticle
Washingtonpost.Newsweek Interactive c/o E-mail Customer Care 1515 N. Courthouse Road Arlington, VA 22201
? 2004 The Washington Post Company
Received on Mon 21 Feb 2005 12:46:57 PM CST
