Single sex schools and classrooms are a growing trend in education. In 2002, approximately a dozen public schools across the nation offered single sex education and now in 2011, there are over 500 schools that offer this type of innovative education. In Maryland alone, there are 10 public schools that offer some form of single sex education.
The two major arguments in favor of single sex education are centered on differing learning styles between genders and minimizing distractions in the classroom. Opponents of this type of education argue that it further segregates students and goes against feminist views.
Personally, I would rather have students interact with others that are different from themselves including those of opposite genders. I think it’s important for students to learn how to interact with the opposite sex especially if our goal is to prepare them for a co-ed world. I do think for some subjects, such as health education, it is beneficial for students to be separated by sex, but on the whole I think separating the students by gender will only further the gender stereotypes that exist.
What do you think? Do any of you teach at single sex schools? What are the pros and cons that you see?
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2 comments:
I’ve discussed this issue on numerous occasions and have found that whenever people debate the pros and cons of a single-sex education someone always invariably speaks up and says, “Well, I received a single-sex education, and I turned out just fine!” Such a bold testament either helps or hurts the person’s argument, leaving little room in between. At the risk of severely hindering my own argument, I would like to say early on that I received a single-sex education and, to the best of my knowledge, I turned out just fine.
But frankly this isn’t the issue. Single-sex schools do a wonderful job educating their students. But I would argue this education is incomplete. We do not live in a single-sex world. Students need to communicate with and understand the perspectives of people who are different from them. School should a place for learning how to work with others. High school, in a lot of ways, is a time to practice both the fundamentals and nuances of social interactions.
Though I believe single-sex education should be an option to parents and students, co-ed schools do a better job preparing students for the world in which they will operate. That being said, I think co-ed school should consider offering single-sex English classes. From my experience attending a single-sex school and now teaching in a co-ed one, I have learned that males and females have drastically different interests when it comes to reading material. For example, the majority of my female students love Their Eyes Were Watching God while I struggle investing my male students. Furthermore, I have found that both sexes are hesitant to share their writings with the rest of the class, especially during the poetry unit. This could speak to my inability to create a positive classroom culture, or it could speak to students’ reservations with sharing their feelings or “sensitive side” with the other sex present. In high school, sharing my writing and listening to those of others was one of my favorite parts in English class. Few had reservations with sharing. Single-sex English classes – or potentially just a semester in a single-sex English class – could alleviate these issues and help create more meaningful and relevant learning experiences for students.
I disagree with arguments stating that single-gendered education is anti-feminist, as much feminist ideology recognizes gender differences while simultaneously advocating for gender equality. In fact, based on my experience attending a women's college I would be inclined to argue the opposite. Rather, I think if schools decide to implement single-sex education, it should be done purposefully and intentionally.
This year, my school implemented single-gendered classrooms for 9th and 10th grade students. Teachers, however, were not made aware of this until Week 0, and were never given proper professional development for how to actually implement single-gendered education effectively. This has resulted in most single-sex classrooms being taught virtually identically, with the only difference being the gender of the students. Students do not understand the school's motive for dividing classrooms by gender, and it has not been as valuable as it likely could have been. I'm on the fence on whether I agree with single-sex education in high schools and would need to do more research on potential benefits. However, I am positive that without proper implementation it is ineffective.
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