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www.insideHALTON.com · OAKVILLE BEAVER Wednesday, January 16, 2013 · 18 Boosting boys as readers ST. MILDRED'S-LIGHTBOURN SCHOOL The Educational Journey of Her Lifetime An Oakville Day School for Girls Preschool to Grade 12 St. Mildred's-Lightbourn School is Halton's only independent all-girls' school. SMLS is not just a school without boys! The teaching practices used by our highly qualified and passionate teachers are informed by current research about girls' unique needs and learning styles. Our programs are developed specifically for girls. Join us at our winter Open House on Saturday, Jan. 19th (10:00 a.m. ­ 2:00 p.m.). Have you ever considered an independent school for your daughter? It's an investment in her future with benefits that are priceless. SMLS offers: · · · · · · · · Highest calibre teachers Global learning opportunities Technology-infused curriculum A rich variety of co-curricular experiences Summer, PD Day and holiday camps Premier facilities Financial aid Busing ... and so much more! Canadian Accredited Independent Schools 1080 Linbrook Road Oakville, Ontario L6J 2L1 Tel: 905-845-2386 · Fax: 905-845-4799 Email: info@smls.on.ca · Website: www.smls.on.ca Charitable Registration # 11919 1963 RR0001 (MC) Conventional wisdom has long intimated that girls are more adept at language arts and reading than boys of the same age. A recent study indicates there may be some merit to the assumption that boys tend to lag behind girls in reading. In order to bolster interest in books and reading comprehension, parents and educators can look to many successful literary series that tend to draw the attention of boys. A 2010 study by the Center on Education Policy that looked at trends beginning from 2002 to 2008 found boys have been lagging behind girls on standardized reading tests. According to Jack Jennings, president of the Center on Education Policy, "We found no state in which boys did not lag behind girls in reading at the elementary level, the middle school level and the high school level. So it's pretty clear: Boys are not doing as well as girls in reading." There are many theories as to why boys seem to eschew reading for other things. Some say that boys in general are always on the defensive, and reading -- which often calls to mind emotion and vulnerability -- is not something that boys would like to admit to doing. Furthermore, schools heavily push classics full of fictional characters as the mainstay of literary curricula. However, research points out that boys tend to gravitate toward nonfiction. Others argue that boys do not have enough male literary role models. The majority of adults involved in shaping boys' interest in reading are women, and boys might not view picking up a good book as a masculine activity. Another theory as to why girls perform better on standardized reading tests revolves around brain function. Girls' brains tend to be more verbally oriented, which can make reading skills easier. Boys are more visually oriented. It stands to reason that boys are more physically restless than girls as well. Sitting for long periods of time reading can be challenging, even for an otherwise well-behaved male student. This was discovered as early as 1986 in an analysis of more than 100 studies by psychologist Warren Eaton and his colleagues at the University of Manitoba. The findings revealed that the average boy is more active than about 69 percent of girls. Finding reading material to which boys will relate can be challenging. There is no blanket approach to finding the right books. Boys may need to be approached individually to find subject matter that will interest them and take them out of their comfort zones. Should schoolmates be viewed reading frequently, it may help other boys surpass their own reading fears and hurdles.