Dear Editor,
Here lie the remains of literacy. The writing has been on the wall for quite a while. The interventions have been varied and many; however, the education system continues to fail our boys. Sadly, the society is paying dearly for this consensual failure. The phenomenon of boys’ poor reading skills is a global concern. Literacy is much more than the calling of words. The failure to which reference is made stems from a background that many of us have detached ourselves from reading. The proliferation of social media has also added a nail in the coffin of literacy.
Unfortunately, too many of our students continue to struggle with the basics, such as filling out a job application form or even to construct a simple sentence. We cannot solely place all the blame on the students. It is rather unfortunate that the positive behavior to which our students should aspire is not seen a lot. Our students do not have enough examples of adults reading in order to model such behaviors and this is symptomatic across the various levels of the education system.
Boys particularly continue to lag behind the girls in literacy, and regrettably, boys who display an aptitude for scholastic achievement are oftentimes ridiculed and their sexuality challenged. The society has unwittingly embraced and reinforced a culture which dictates to boys that reading is anti-masculine. This apathy towards reading must be addressed with a sense of urgency as the society continues to send conflicting views along gendered lines regarding how success is defined.
De-Feminise the Education System
We need to create safe spaces for our boys in order to engage them more meaningfully. We also need to revisit how we ascribe and contribute ‘successes to those endeavours which education is not necessarily a factor. The (undervalued) social currency which is used to determine success needs to be revalued. There is also a need to revisit and ‘de-feminize’ the education system, which, as is, serves as a deterrent to the holistic development of our males.
Male underperformance and underachievement, if not addressed urgently, are likely to witness the spread of hyper- masculinity, There needs to be more creative ways concerning literacy intervention especially targeting our boys. Why not establish a ‘National Men’s Day for Reading’, where male educators would be in charge of all classes on that day. In those educational institutions where there are very few male educators, the parent teachers’ associations can encourage fathers and other males to participate in reading exercises. We can partner with other stakeholders, such as our barbershops, in order to inspire and motivate boys to read more. Corporate Jamaica and Jamaicans living in the Diaspora can participate by encouraging them to donate books and magazines.
Benefits of Reading
Fundamentally, reading is a social activity that has a number of benefits. Among the benefits are: increases one’s ability to empathize. Research has indicated that people who read literary fiction stories show a heightened ability to understand the feelings and beliefs of others. This skill set to empathize with each other is very critical in today’s hectic world. Additionally, reading alleviates depression symptoms, prevents age-related cognitive decline and builds one’s vocabulary.  There is an urgent need to think outside the box, encourage reading and rescue our boys.
In the words of Barack Obama, Reading is the gateway skill that makes all other learning possible, from complex word problems and the meaning of our history to scientific discovery and technological proficiency.
Wayne Campbell (Mr.)
Educator & Social Commentator
