What do you think about gender-segregated classrooms?

[Edwina's Secretary]

I am a big advocate of single sex classrooms. Better for both.

[Pembroke_Corgi]

Statistics were in fact quoted last night for a school (I don't remember which one.) Without knowing the sample size and how they were collected, at face value they seemed pretty impressive. I think it was 100% graduation vs. 68%, and 86% going to college vs. 31%, for a specific charter school (girls only) vs. the public school.

I think it's a good idea with the usual caveats on making sure the resources are allocated fairly between boys' and girls' schools. At the end of the day, it should be up to the parents (and perhaps the student him/herself) if single-gender classes are right for them.

But, they only used two schools to compare this information, which wouldn't hold up statistically.

I would like to see a controlled study of many different classrooms with different ages and subjects...

[Pembroke_Corgi]

Overall I'm very surprised at how many people find it a good idea!

There's nothing wrong with that, of course, but don't you wonder how students who never have to have any contact with the opposite sex will manage when they get older? Our workplaces aren't gender-segregated.

[Lady's Human]

It's gender separation while during classtime. It's not like you're sending the girls to the arctic and the boys to Antarctica!

There's still mixing of the sexes, just not IN the classroom.

[Pembroke_Corgi]

It's gender separation while during classtime. It's not like you're sending the girls to the arctic and the boys to Antarctica!

There's still mixing of the sexes, just not IN the classroom.

Well, that's true, but no one can deny that the reason children go to school is to learn how to be a productive member of society- they are educated with facts and they are socialized. Class time is an important part of that socialization.

[kitten645]

I went to an all girls college prep (high school).
While at the time we complained bitterly in hindsight, I LOVED it and it was the best possible thing for me. I went to a "mixed" grade school which I think is good to develop social skills and frankly, learn to stand up for yourself i.e. be more vocal with the boys in the class. However in high school I loved not being under pressure and distracted with boys around.
There was a local "all boys" school that our schools mixed social activities with. I think it's a stereotype that girls will be 'at each others throats' or bitchy with each other just because they are all girls. If anything, lack of boys around made us less 'bitchy' due to the lack of competing with each other for male attention. We competed on academic levels.
I also think it made us more independent with better self-esteem. The support system was much stronger I think.
Mind you it didn't keep some of the girls from getting pregnant and messing up in general but those girls would have probably ended up in the same boat or worse in a mixed environment.
My nieces will definitely go to all girl schools for high school.

[mugsy]

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.

[Pembroke_Corgi]

Well, I'm not sure about middle/high school, but I don't think that elementary students should be separated.

I'm not talking about socializing as in talking about the latest gossip, but as in learning to be polite/ learning basic manners. Many children do not learn this at home. I am currently getting my certificate to teach elementary school, and I work in a school with 2nd and 3rd graders. Learning to be respectful to each other and to adults is important, and I think learning to be respectful to the opposite sex is valuable. Many activities for young children are designed not only to teach them facts but to teach them social skills they need. Many characteristics that people carry with them throughout their lifespans are developed in childhood.

[popcornbird]

I too, think its a great idea. In fact, it isn't really a new idea, because in many parts of the world, this is a 'very' common practice.

I'm not sure if it would make a difference to very young children in elementry school, but once kids hit puberty, their eyes start wandering, and they start focusing more on 'that beautiful girl or that cute guy', instead of on their education. It would probably reduce the amount of teenage pregnancies and unwanted babies too. In fact, I would LOVE for this to happen before I have my own children, and they are ready to begin school.

[GreyhoundGirl]

In my shcool, grade 8 and down are together. After that, they are seperate. GREAT, oh well, I can't say I'll miss some of the guys in my class. They behave really childish.