Single Sex classrooms growing trend in public school.

[Arabis]

http://www.cnn.com/2007/EDUCATION/01/25/same.sex.schools.ap/index.html

Link to full article above.

More public school systems are looking at separating boys and girls, whether for certain classes or by entire schools, after the federal government opened the door last fall. Supporters say splitting students by sex minimizes distractions, helps them learn better and allows boys and girls to explore subjects they may not otherwise take.

What do you think? Is this good or bad or does it matter?

 

[Mike182]

thankfully it's not happening in the UK.

i don't like the idea of splitting boys and girls at all.

 

[Comprehend]

http://www.cnn.com/2007/EDUCATION/01/25/same.sex.schools.ap/index.html

Link to full article above.



What do you think? Is this good or bad or does it matter?

I kind of think that it might be helpful. Maybe it will create an educational environment that is less conducive to disruption. Public schools are in the dumps as it is, I don't think anything will pull them out of the garbage, but I think this might delay the inevitable.

Don't teachers and the media always say that boys and girls learn differently? then wouldn't it make sense to split them up and teach them differently? It makes sense to me.

 

[Comprehend]

thankfully it's not happening in the UK.

i don't like the idea of splitting boys and girls at all.

Why not?

 

[NoahideHiker]

I think it can be a good thing. I think interaction between the sexes is important for socialization skills but at the same time I think it can do a lot good.

 

[lunamoth]

I think it's a great idea. Not to keep boys and girls seperate all the time, but I really do think that it is very distracting to have mixed genders in the same classrooms, esp. from 7th grade on. I think both girls and boys would be more assertive and attentive in classrooms seprated by gender.

 

[Arabis]

I think it can be a good thing. I think interaction between the sexes is important for socialization skills but at the same time I think it can do a lot good.

People say the same thing about socialization skills for kids that are home schooled and it just isn't true. The kids aren't separated all the time, the boys and girls still see each other during lunch and recess, where the socialization occurs any way. Any kids that have good parents are going to have been taught good social skills.

 

[NoahideHiker]

People say the same thing about socialization skills for kids that are home schooled and it just isn't true. The kids aren't separated all the time, the boys and girls still see each other during lunch and recess, where the socialization occurs any way. Any kids that have good parents are going to have been taught good social skills.

There is a difference. Home schooled kids are smarter. LOL!

I don't see a problem with this then. I think as a whole we have become so politically correct and treat everyone too much alike.

 

[Buttons*]

well it's similar to private schools. I think we'd do better to separate the boys and girls and only focus on studies... but that's cause i have a private school background

 

[evearael]

All the girls I knew in high school who attended an all girl school were very happy with the arrangement and there was no lack of socialization with the all boys school just down the street.

 

[Mathematician]

I'd be dissapointed to learn I wasn't going to have girls in my class. :cover:

What if work performance increased if races are separate? Should we separate them for that reason? I say no against all cases of "separate-but-equal". If work performance is all we care about during class, that can lead to a slippery slope.

I'd also be upset.

 

[Booko]

What do you think? Is this good or bad or does it matter?

Well, let me put it this way, I am NOT happy that my kids' gym classes are coed. Once the kids hit puberty, they should be separate.

Aside from that, there is some educational value in separation at some ages, as boys and girls do not mature at the same rate.

For example, girls *tend* to have greater language skills earlier on, but boys will move faster in areas requiring spatial skills.

It's also been shown that in mixed gender classes, women speak less. (Same for cultural minorities, incidentally)

I don't think that it should be done across the board, but same gender classes are something worth looking at and should be an option.

 

[Booko]

Don't teachers and the media always say that boys and girls learn differently? then wouldn't it make sense to split them up and teach them differently? It makes sense to me.

If you want to see the difference between boys and girls' learning styles, check out the difference in how Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts organize.

When I taught all-boy children's classes, I made sure there was more physical activity. At young ages, boys (generally) just don't seem to do sitting still very well.

Veteran elementary teachers will tell you that in areas where there is no recess it's just tough to get the boys to focus at all. And where there is recess, the teachers breath a sigh of relief, knowing that after the guys get to run around and flap their arms a bit, they'll be able to settle down and focus again. A smart teacher will schedule subjects accordingly, and save the tougher stuff for early in the day or a bit after recess.

 

[Booko]

What if work performance increased if races are separate? Should we separate them for that reason? I say no against all cases of "separate-but-equal". If work performance is all we care about during class, that can lead to a slippery slope.

It *does* increase...ask anyone who goes to any of the "black" colleges here in Atlanta.

The difference is segregation in grade schools has always been designed to *prevent* blacks from getting an education -- not to give them an opportunity, as places like Spelman do.

The reason why we don't allow the existence of "universities for whites" is because that's what they pretty much all are anyway.

Even the black colleges will let in white applicants based on merit. I've known a couple of (white) Baha'is who attended. It's just that few whites bother to apply.

 

[Comprehend]

I'd be dissapointed to learn I wasn't going to have girls in my class. :cover:

What if work performance increased if races are separate? Should we separate them for that reason? I say no against all cases of "separate-but-equal". If work performance is all we care about during class, that can lead to a slippery slope.

I'd also be upset.

I thought they were being separated because they learn better that way. This doesn't really have anything to do with separate but equal. Shouldn't educating the kids be all we care about during class?

(slippery slope arguments are logical fallacies)

 

[Comprehend]

It *does* increase...ask anyone who goes to any of the "black" colleges here in Atlanta.

The difference is segregation in grade schools has always been designed to *prevent* blacks from getting an education -- not to give them an opportunity, as places like Spelman do.

The reason why we don't allow the existence of "universities for whites" is because that's what they pretty much all are anyway.

Even the black colleges will let in white applicants based on merit. I've known a couple of (white) Baha'is who attended. It's just that few whites bother to apply.

Too bad the congressional black caucus hasn't learned that lesson yet...

http://www.suntimes.com/news/quicktakes/226442,CST-NWS-qt24.article

Rewriting the rules
A member of the Congressional Black Caucus regarding its refusal to admit freshman Rep. Stephen I. Cohen (D-Tenn.), a white seeking to better represent a district that is 60 percent black:

"It's an unwritten rule. It's understood. It's clear." Fifty-two years, eight months and six days since Brown vs. Board of Education and counting . . .

 

[Shadow Wolf]

People say the same thing about socialization skills for kids that are home schooled and it just isn't true.

It depends. I was homeschooled, and had very, very little interaction with anyone else. Mainly because I lived out in the middle of nowhere. I know some parents who have claimed that is the only downside of homeschooling, is the social interactions are not a part of it.

I think segregating boys and girls would be a waste. They might learn differently, but the required material would still be the same.

 

[Arabis]

If you want to see the difference between boys and girls' learning styles, check out the difference in how Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts organized.

I see that too, our church youth groups divide into boys and girls and the organization and activities are very different and have different purposes.

 

[standing_on_one_foot]

Well, it would have been sheer hell on someone like me, but then I suppose gender variant kids are very much the minority and don't really count in considerations like this, do they?

My gut reaction is that this is a bad idea. My more considered reaction is that it's still a bad idea. But, on the other hand, there's a good deal of evidence that, say, teachers treat boys and girls differently in the same classes, so possibly seperating classes would help that. I just get nervous around things that push gender distinctions that hard.

I think about the most reasonable thing, if you really want segregated classes, would be to offer them but not make them mandatory. It sounds like a number of schools are doing that, and it seems fair enough.

I'd like to see some statistics on how schools like this perform compared to other schools, and whether there is a direct cause and effect relationship or some more subtle shared factor. Among other reasons, I'm generally troubled by such simple solutions as this; "silver bullet" was a term the article mentioned, I believe. Often times people like them better than they actually work.

 

[lilithu]

Well, it would have been sheer hell on someone like me, but then I suppose gender variant kids are very much the minority and don't really count in considerations like this, do they?

Everyone should count. Otoh I do think there's good evidence that seperating boys and girls generally improves school performance. Is there a way that this could be done without further marginalizing gender variant kids?