Boys, Non-fiction, Flow and Leap

Marc Aronson writes a blog called Nonfiction Matters, and a column in School Library Journal.

A post of his earlier this year discusses the book "Reading Don't Fix No Chevys: Literacy in the Lives of Young Men", by Michael W. Smith.

He has some really interesting points to make about the experience of reading fiction v non-fiction, and what to look for when choosing non-fiction for boys.

Here's what Marc Aronson has to say:

One of the key points in the book is about flow -- that experience of moving beyond yourself, being caught up in an activity. Reading seems the opposite of that to many boys, while action -- sports, building, competing -- offers just that experience.

I'd like to add another term, one which gets to the heart of what nonfiction offers: leap. Here's what I mean: if you think of NF as a plod through information, it doubtless seems as daunting and unpleasant as, say, a novel might for some boys. But, to me, one of the main reasons for acquiring information is so that you can jump, leap -- think about it. Some people love envisioning what it would be like to live in a time and place. I love speculating about how and why -- and that leap past the known into the region where you feel alive, creative, smart, alert, open is the great pleasure of nonfiction.

My fear is that we too often evaluate books on their command of fact, and that we spend too much of our attention on how students assimilate and record those facts. I would like to see us do more to stimulate kids to experience the pleasure of leaping, then make sure they have the facts to support, or falsify, their leaps.

Happy leaping, everyone!

Watch out next week for another post about getting boys into books.