In their own words...

At this point, the book is beginning to tell their findings by using the interviews of some of the young men. I always think that it is much more powerful to hear what students have to say, rather than researchers, but I think that Smith and Wilhelm maybe went just a little overboard in including many interviews that say the same things over and over again. Now, I know that they were proving a point, but it was just a little redundant.

Since this chapter was all about the opinions of the boys interviewed, it was nice to hear that all expressed a genuine belief that school is important and necessary for their futures. The authors also noted that this statement was true regardless of school, region, social status, race, etc. Eric states, “Education is power, I guess…” (Smith, 63)

The authors created profiles of eight young men in their study and asked many other young men to read the profiles and give their thoughts. The authors divulged that that they crafted Andre’s profile, emphasizing the “feminine” aspects of his interests. For example, Andre is planning on pursuing a career as a librarian of a teacher, “occupations that have traditionally been dominated by women.” (Smith, 71) They also wanted him to “appear sensitive and emotional.” (Smith, 71) The authors believed that by doing this, they would get less favorable reactions to his profile. Quite the contrary, however, most of the boys believed it to be admirable that he enjoyed reading and appreciated that he “follows his own path” (Smith, 71) and is not discouraged by stereotypes. They can see that he is happy with the profession that he has chosen to go into and they appreciate that he wants to “Share his knowledge and passion for reading and stuff with other kids.” (Smith, 72)

Chris, on the other hand, was putting school on the back burner in order to help his family. Interestingly enough, many of the boys thought that his decision was admirable but did not agree with it. They believed that to help his family im the long run, he needed to get an education. “In short, the boys in the urban school recognize that class issues have a major impact on school achievement. But their belief in school is so great, they feel strongly that these issues have to be confronted and overcome.” (Smith, 83)

The chapter concludes by offering that boys do not reject literacy because it may be categorized as more “feminine” but because they might not see any relevance of literature in their lives.