There are two facts that hold true in virtually every society where males and females have equal access to books and education.
Females read more than males.
Females do better in school than males.
While males tend to score better in math, there’s a tie for the sciences, and thereafter girls tend to be on the upward curve.
Is the fact that girls read more, the reason they tend to outperform boys? Or is it mere coincidence? And if boys pick up the slack with reading, will they finally catch up with their female counterparts?
Reading proficiency is the basis upon which all other learning is built. When boys don’t do well at reading, their performance in other school subjects suffers too.
…Boys, it appears, spend more of their free time in the virtual world; they are 17% more likely to play collaborative online games than girls every day. They also use the internet more.
Of course, there are other factors that affect the gender inequalities in school performance, including juvenile macho behavior, resulting in a “too cool for school” mindset.
In light of these additional reasons for unequal performance, when gender is removed from the equation, does reading still hold a strong argument for excellent academic performance?
To ensure we followed through with this, we were bombarded with requirements to read entire textbooks for up to 6 courses in a semester. If that didn’t get the point across to us, then nothing else would.
But let’s be honest. What teachers believe and what actually happens doesn’t always correlate. Is this one of those instances? Do students really read for their educational qualifications? Or is this an over-exaggeration pushed by passionate professors?
…those who are better at reading tend to be smarter later in their development. Even at the age of seven you can already see the effect.
But what is perhaps more surprising is that children who have a better ability to read do better in non-verbal tests.
While these studies have great implications, assuming childhood literacy and intelligence assures college academic excellence can be a bit of a stretch. We all knew that student — or several — who did great in their earlier years, but then peaked early, and never seemed to progress much further in life.
Well, according to School Media Library Research, the benefits of reading hold right into adulthood, and yes, college life. In a published study discussing the effects of voluntary reading outside of school, the researchers mentioned that college students who fell behind in school, correlated with students who read less and less after middle school.
…young people’s use of computers shifts away from games and toward accessing information as they get older. Students who use computers watch TV less frequently than those who do not use computers. People in households with computers spend just as much money on reading material as those without computers.
It turns out that our Jamaican lecturers were correct: it’s important to read for that degree, after all. And the more of it you do, the smarter you become, the better you are at reasoning and stretching your imagination, and the better you are at testing.
All of that translates into not just better academic grades, but better work performance later on. In short, it makes you a much better human being, even with school set aside.
With so many great benefits, why wouldn’t you turn the TV off, power down the video games, silence the cellphone, and do some reading? You have so much to gain, and nothing to lose in the process!
I tinker with it all the time now. If my blog suddenly looks funny you’ll know why.