Equity for All

Throughout the boys' literacy debate, an issue to remember is to not ignore the girls. While boys do have different learning styles and behaviors, literacy achievement is an issue to concentrate on equally amongst both boys and girls. Governments and schools must be acutely aware not to segregate girls' and boys' differing needs and abilities through teaching strategies and resources. Diverse literature should be made available to meet both boys' and girls' tastes. Most of the suggested practices are applicable to all students. For example, girls must be given the opportunity to choose what they want to read and not assume that because they are girls, they only enjoy reading narrative texts.

While it is necessary to reflect on improving teaching practices that meet boys' literacy needs, it is also very important not to do so at the expense of the girls, i.e., creating a reading club that only targets one group, in this case the boys. Girls will naturally feel neglected and their own attitude towards literacy will be affected. Literacy must be addressed equally; schools must actively create opportunities for both genders to improve themselves. While the issue of boys' literacy is important, there are many elements that must be addressed for both genders.