Same Sex School/Classes

The latest trend in America is to have same sex classes. According to “extensive” research it has been found that boys and girls do not learn the same way (2). This is but one reason why the government is allowing for classes to be segregated by sex (5). It is felt that if the boys are taught at a rate they understand and the girls at another rate that eventually they will even out and learn the mandatory amount for graduation.

The U.S. Department of Education in 2006 gave schools more flexibility to try single-sex classes without the fear of lawsuits, but programs must be voluntary. As of November, there are at least 366 public schools in the United States offering single-sex educational opportunities, according to advocacy group the National Association for Single Sex Public Education at singlesexschools.org(2).

Many states have tried the single sex classes, some have succeeded, and many have failed (7). In Baltimore the idea was tried and found not to work. While other cities are currently trying the idea, they have learned form the failedres of other schools. Philadelphia is one city that the single sex classes seem to be working for (3). They have seen increases in the academic performances for their students since implementing the segregation.

The proponents for single sex classes feel that not that there is more than the idea that the sexes learn differently from each other. They also feel that the separation will allow the students to be free of the pressures of co-ed classes (6). They will be able to focus on the course load rather than what the boy or girl next to them is wearing. It is believed that they will be able to avoid the dating and taunting that is present in co-ed classes (4).

I am curious as to how they came to the decision that there would be less taunting. Even among the sexes taunting occurs, perhaps even more-so. Girls can be, and usually are, downright nasty to each other. Boys tend to bully the smaller boys or the smarter boys. Separating the sexes is not going to stop this.

Separating the sexes could lead to ideas of superiority between them. Here is a scenario, two students, a boy and a girl, same age but at different levels in a subject. The student at the higher level is going to feel and act superior to the other student. This can lead to barriers between the students.

The separation will also cause even more “girl only” and “boy only” cliques. In an age when we need to learn to live with each other this is not a good thing to have happen. While I agree that boys and girls do learn at different rates and in different ways, I do not feel that separation is the right answer. Boys and girls need to learn how to interact with each other in and out of school. They need to realize that they can learn from each other. They need to learn that there is no superiority of either sex.

The students should be in mixed classes so that they can learn how to live together. Eventually, when they go into the working world, there will not be single sex jobs. The world is not single sex, it is co-ed. School is