Separate but equal: single gender classrooms

All of the middle schoolers are together and all of the high schoolers are together, just separated by gender.

Interesting, msolga and Thomas. Maybe they do this for the benefit of the girls.

Well, I've always thought so... just didn't know the reason for it.

I've been thinking about this a lot today and I'm getting more comfortable
with the idea as it pertains to Mo. I can see how it might not be the right
decision for all kids though and I'm still curious about the policy. . .

The single-gender model is premised on the idea that assigning students of only one sex to a classroom fosters a better learning environment by eliminating social pressures that can affect academic performance.

Under that theory, teachers don't have to deal with distractions created by students trying to navigate the intricate social balance of a coed environment. Students are free to express themselves without worrying about the pressures of impressing the opposite sex.

Detractors argue that the education process includes acquiring social skills needed in the coed world outside the schoolhouse. They say single-gender schools may well foster stereotypes and sexist sentiments about how boys and girls learn and may stunt their social maturity.

Wendy Kaminer, a Boston-based author, social critic and former national board member of the American Civil Liberties Union, contends that the single-gender movement bases its theory "mostly on assumption, hopes and stereotyping about different learning styles."

"They tend to exaggerate achievement results. But the truth is we still don't know that single-gender necessarily creates better schools," she said.

[...]

Advocates and opponents agree there is no overwhelming evidence that segregating students by gender is a superior model for raising academic achievement.

Leonard Sax, founder of the Exton, Pa.-based National Association for Single Sex Public Education, contends that single-gender schools are not the solution for every troubled school. When they are created merely for the sake of replacing a dysfunctional school with something different, the results are often disastrous, he said.

"Simply saying that it works in private schools is not useful," said Dr. Sax, who has written three books on the subject.

Numerous factors help explain why students flourish at single-gender schools -- especially at private and some public charter schools -- but none is more important than socioeconomic status, he said.

"The kids you'll find at The Ellis School are not representative of the kids coming from low-income neighborhoods," he said. "In private school and in charter schools, you have a selected group of students. They thrive in a culture of achievement that is created by stringent rules and standards. There is little room for error."

[....]

Research in brain development as well as test results show that the single-gender model is most likely to improve academic achievement for elementary students, he said. By the time they hit middle or high school, he said, it may be too late to change bad habits and academic acumen regardless of the type of school.