And they can socialize all they want after school. The point of the classroom is to learn, not socialize. When I teach my students are in their desks and they are listening to me or to other students. We use the talking stick to make sure that only one person is talking in deference to the stick and the person doing the talking. We rarely talk about who is doing what after school....that's hall talk....totally different animal. The fewer the distractions the better. Comparing mixed workplace and mixed school is like comparing apples to oranges...we are talking about hormonal adolescents in the classroom who are NOT adults who still are learning to be adults....in the work place (in a perfect world) you are dealing with adults who SHOULD be able to control their hormones and work productively.