Single-sex classrooms gaining favor

[Dionysus]

Originally posted by valkyrie
IowaHawkeye, I hear what you're saying, but I'm very troubled by the fact that society is getting to the point where there seems to be a "need" for single sex education to obtain all the benefits that come from attending a single sex school. Why do girls in single sex educational settings have higher self esteem and do better on tests? I would rather figure that out and address it than separate boys from girls in schools. I think that the *why* is VERY important here. What is going wrong for girls in our school system? Can't we fix it?

I was thinking the same thing. It is true that most girls do better in single sex settings. The question is why? I think we all know the answer.

The problem goes deeper, it is how we are socialized to act around the opposite sex. IMO having single gender classes and schools are just treating the symptoms, not the underlying problem.

I'm not saying that it is all bad, but I don't think it is a magic bullet.

[SilverTurtle]

valkyrie, now it's my turn to agree with you!

posted by valkyrie
I hear what you're saying, but I'm very troubled by the fact that society is getting to the point where there seems to be a "need" for single sex education to obtain all the benefits that come from attending a single sex school. Why do girls in single sex educational settings have higher self esteem and do better on tests? I would rather figure that out and address it than separate boys from girls in schools. I think that the *why* is VERY important here. What is going wrong for girls in our school system?

Iowa Hawkeye, I'm not saying that single-sex education is bad in & of itself. It's great that you had a good experience, and I suppose that for some people it is better.

I have seen similar statements about single-sex education before. And I just realized it's always in relation to girls. I've never seen something like that about all-boys schools. I wonder why not?

It also got me wondering- Has anyone ever done a study to follow up on graduates of single-sex & co-ed schools? To see how those statistics (test scores, etc.) compare one those students get into (co-ed) colleges. I wonder if one group has an advantage over the other? And what about actual performance in the workplace (i.e. who advances further, has higher level jobs, etc.)? That would be interesting to see. Although it would be difficult to gather enough of a sample and follow them that long.