Customer Reviews

"Reading Don't Fix No Chevys": Literacy in the Lives of Young Men

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This book significantly changed the way I, as a teacher of Language Arts, think about what we do in secondary classrooms every day. Without ever being strident or laying blame, the authors methodically, movingly demonstrate that in so many ways, most middle schools and high schools are still far off the mark in how they teach English. And yet, the answer is right there--all we have to do is listen to the kids.

Sure, it's easy for us to listen to the good readers, the ones who zipped through "Lord of the Rings" in 5th grade, who devour books. But when do we really listen and respond to the needs of those kids--particularly, as the authors point out, boys--who never read, who say they hate to read?

The authors studied, and carried on extensive dialogues, with 49 boys in grades 7-12. What they found will shock and dismay some readers. To others, it will come as no surprise. Still others may see it as a call to action: Increasingly, many children--and boys in particular--fail to make any significant connection with what goes on in the language arts classroom. Even passionate teachers may be of little help, so long as they insist on imposing the conventional canon of "great literature" on all students. What's more, students who resist traditional reading are by no means necessarily illiterate. Many are highly competent readers of computer manuals, sports magazines, graphic novels and internet communications--to name just a few. Many are passionate about these alternative literary activities. But they find no reinforcement for them in school; often, it is quite the opposite.

The authors argue that we must reach students first through the literate activities they already know and value, and tap into these interests, these sometimes unconventional literacies, as ways to engage them in meaningful, real activities. Then, if all goes well, they will begin to seek out wonder and meaning in ways that go deeper than the surface, and the door may open, for some, on that world of symbolic, philosophical, emotional meaning that is so valued by teachers and other lifelong readers.

I heard about this book on Amazon, and quickly picked it up. As a teacher of middle school English learners who will soon be transitioning to mainstream classes, I have had many battles with students, especially boys, who hate to read. At the beginning of the year, I have my students complete this statement on a piece of paper: "When I read, I feel....". From the boys, I've gotten such responses as "bored", "tired", "sleepy", and, strangely enough, "hungry". The reality is, our male students are falling through the cracks because they are not engaged with the texts. If students aren't engaged by "Death of a Salesman" or "The Scarlet Letter", then why do we still force them to read these books? One solution to solving the problem of low literacy skills among boys would be to allow more book choices. Literature circles are great, because they give students a choice. If one circle is reading "Lord of the Flies" and doesn't want to read it, then he could get in the group that's reading the book he wants to read. "Reading Don't Fix No Chevys" is an insightful, well-researched book that I have been recommending to all my fellow Language Arts and ESL/ELD teachers. Bravo!

I read this book as a part of a Graduate level course in education I am taking at Rutgers University; the very University its author Michael Smith (who co-wrote with Jeffrey Wilhelm) once taught at. I found this book indispensible in its informative snapshots of high school boys from different backgrounds. It is clear that the language arts do not suffer from irrelevance for boys but perhaps from being taught in such a way that does not connect the texts with the boys' existing literary knowledge. After reading this book, you will learn that there are many ways to engage boys in the teaching of the language arts. I highly recommend this book. It is one of the top five best educational books I have read so far. Exceptional!

For me, this book was incredibly eye-opening and yet nothing new all at the same time. I'm afraid my insights are not terribly scholarly and echo my own thoughts that have been growing since I left my teaching job in D.C. Students are individuals. This is a quote from one of my favorite authors: "You learn to read so you can identify the reality in which you live, so that you can become a protagonist of history rather than a spectator". I believe this is true regardless of your favorite genre. I think reading done right is a terribly personal process. There are no magical answers and insights. The wonderful thing about this book is that it confirms the intuitions of great teachers everywhere and provides tangible evidence of what many of us already knew: that boys can learn to love and appreciate literacy but that we need to know and appreciate our students before they can appreciate what we have to offer.
The process of teaching is so much more than just scaffolding and breaking things down into steps. It is looking at each individual student and facilitating their self discovery. I suppose I am very constructivist in this way. Every student learns differently, likes something different. All boys don't like the same thing, they are individuals and we need to learn who they are and what they like as individuals. Another quote from my favorite author:"The very least you can do in life is to figure out what you hope for. And the most you can do is live inside that hope". We need to find out what the hopes of our boys are. The writers offhandedly suggest encouraging boys to give you a song a week that they love, and using this to dialogue with them and learn who they are. It sounds like it has nothing to do with reading and yet it does, because reading is an interaction between the reader and the text, and hopefully it is a conversation among peers and colleagues as well.
This is a worthwhile read for any teacher, even those with experience because it contains the voices of our students. It reminds many of us of what we have forgotten, to interact with our students and ask them what they want and need.

This an informative study of reading in the high school setting and why we are having so many problems interesting boys in literacy.