Single Sex Public Schools?

[Iceblink]

Article (http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=519&e=2&u=/ap/single_sex_schools)

Lots of research has been done on this. I am going from memory... but I remember the boys staying about the same with a little increase in grades/test scores... and the girls going up substantially.


There's even an organization in favor of single sex schools... here (http://www.singlesexschools.org/).


What do you think? I think that some single-gender public schools are a good idea.

[NoodlesMacintosh]

Ipswich? Isn't there an old Lovecraft story about fish monsters breeding with the people of Ipswich?

Single-sex public schools, eh? Focus would improve, ability to socialize would decline. And considering how D&D freaks already can't effectively socialize with the opposite gender, I vote yes for this proposition, but only if it's turned into a social experiment. That way we can scientifically track the drop in social skills.

[Excape Goat]

I went to college with people who went to single sex private schools. They behaved differently toward the opposite sex than people from co-ed systerm. My friends and I used to laugh at some of them. I vowed never to send my kids to a single sex school.

[quicksand]

I've seen some research that showed that boys showed a marked improvement when in same-sex classes/schools mainly because it allowed for them to be taugh differently (i.e. in a more competitive environment that also held them very accountable for their own work).

[Iceblink]

I went to college with people who went to single sex private schools. They behaved differently toward the opposite sex than people from co-ed systerm. My friends and I used to laugh at some of them. I vowed never to send my kids to a single sex school.

I don't know though... private schools are another thing all together. We're talking about single sex public schools.

I actually went to an all-male military school, and we had plenty of interaction with members of the opposite sex. Lots and lots and lots of interaction.

Were these people at boarding schools, catholic schools? The type of school is definitely a factor.

I don't know that there's a real socialization issue here. I think there's a HUGE one with homeschooling... but not much good really comes out of the interactions I've seen between boys and girls at public schools.

At my school (not the one I went to... the one where I teach...), you can always tell when a boy likes a girl when he grabs her around the neck, puts her in a headlock, and drags her around the hall. How sweet.

How did the people you saw act different toward the opposite sex?

[elainemichelle]

I've seen some research that showed that boys showed a marked improvement when in same-sex classes/schools mainly because it allowed for them to be taugh differently (i.e. in a more competitive environment that also held them very accountable for their own work).
I'm a girl. I go to a public school. This school is coed. The program is very competitive and we're held accountable for our work.

It's all about how they teach you. Just b/c there are girls doesn't mean it can't be competitive with high levels individual accountability.

[Demosthenes]

I think it's a good idea. All the women I've know who went to single-sex schools are forceful, assertive feminists. Of course, I can't say they would be different if they'd gone to co-ed schools, but my anecdotal evidence does seem to support the research. I know when I was in elementary school, I was often intimidated by a couple of boys who were very aggressive and competitive, specifically in math class. I'm sure I would have participated more and had more confidence about my math skills early on if it had been an all-girl school. Later, in high school, I had to repeat Geometry because I got a D the second semester. The boy who sat next to me in Geometry got the same grade, but they let him move on to Algebra II. So there are administrative and teacher biases to deal with in addition to social pressures. So I think single sex schools are a brilliant idea.

[Dr. Wankler]

At my school (not the one I went to... the one where I teach...), you can always tell when a boy likes a girl when he grabs her around the neck, puts her in a headlock, and drags her around the hall. How sweet.


Well, that just proves his assertion that they need to develop social skills. But it kinda undercuts the idea that they do so best in co-educational environments.

[nicodemus]

I went to college with people who went to single sex private schools. They behaved differently toward the opposite sex than people from co-ed systerm. My friends and I used to laugh at some of them. I vowed never to send my kids to a single sex school.
One of my friends in high school dated one of these girls and they were home schooled, they seemed to do all right for themselves socially:

http://www.thepiercesmusic.com/images/press_rollingstone.jpg
http://www.thepiercesmusic.com/images/press_spin.jpg

In the 2nd piece, they even mention their normalcy after being homeschooled and having boyfriends. I know the homeschool/same sex school thing is a bit different, but it seemed ancedotally interesting.

[quicksand]

I'm a girl. I go to a public school. This school is coed. The program is very competitive and we're held accountable for our work.

It's all about how they teach you. Just b/c there are girls doesn't mean it can't be competitive with high levels individual accountability.Whoah whoah there. No one's trying to say it can't work, just that the boys-only classes that employed those options showed an improvement over the co-ed classes. I don't remember the name of the book, but I remember it was written by a woman who was arguing for teaching boys differently.

[Dr. Wankler]

At last, our cyber-presence has been graced by a moronic troll.

Finally, we're a real forum. We have arrived.

[metro24freak]

I go to an all girls private school and I think it's great, there are those times when I wish we had boys in class but it makes life a lot easier not having the boys around. It's not like we don't see boys the boys school is across the street. I've been going there for 12 years (it's Pre-K through 12th) and really you don't even notice that the guys aren't there. In lower school the boys were over there for after school but then they were really gross and stuff and we didn't like them, we were more interested in pretending to be princes and they were more interested in pretending to be monsters and shooting people and stuff like that. In middle school we had dances with the guys every month or 2 and we'd go to other schools dance in the same sporting league as us so we saw eachother a lot (that'd be the guys from the school across the street and from the schools we played some of which were single sex and some of which were co-ed) and we had a drama program in 7th and 8th which a lot of people did after school on Fridays from 3-5. Then in upper school we have co-ed classes with the guys. In 9th and 10th grade you just have language, art, and music together and everything else is co-ed so you don't really see them that often, but we can go back and forth between schools in our spare time and eat lunch up there and stuff and then in 11th and 12th grade everything is co-ed.

I actually really like it, I do whine and complain about it sometimes but whenever I'm in McDonalds or something and someone asks me what it's like because they're thinking about sending their kid there I tell them to do it, I wouldn't take back anything I've ever done at my school. It's a lot easier to be yourself, you can talk about anything and not worry about sounding stupid because the guy you like is standing 10 feet away and you're afraid he might be listening. And it's not like we never see guys until we have some outside of school activity on the weekend or when we get to college, we see the guys, we know who they are, we go out with them and hang out on the weekends and after school and stuff and go to their games and stuff, we just don't have all of our classes with them until 11th grade.

Having all girls in the classroom makes learning a lot easier to again for not having to worry about what you're saying. You don't have to worry about some cute guy thinking your stupid because you answered a math problem wrong or you got a bad grade on a test and it makes class discussions a lot easier to have. No offense meant to the guys across the street but they don't always take everything seriously and in the classroom we want to have serious discussions and we'll joke around and stuff too during class but with the guys it's hard to have serious discussions sometimes, I'm not sure if it's cause they're immature or they just like acting like idiots sometimes or what, but they're still really smart we know that, they wouldn't be going to this school if they weren't and the same goes for us.

I think it's a good idea, but I also think it's a good idea to have the co-ed classes in high school. I'm only gonna be a sophomore this year but I know all during middle school up until the last few months of 8th grade I was so concerned with being just like everybody else because I was afraid of what people would think if I did something different. Having all the girls around, especially if you've known them your whole life and for me since i've been there so long that's the way it feels, you have this awesome support system of people who don't think you're weird for doing something different, instead they embrace it and support you in it. It's just a lot easier to find out what you like and who you are and a lot easier to learn without having to worry about what some guy thinks about you, and I can come into school looking like crap and no ones gonna care, I mean really, they're no guys who am I trying to look good for?

But I guess it all depends on the person. There are some people who've left because they didn't like the fact that there weren't boys. I liked it, I found it easier to learn and be comfortable with myself because I was really insecure about just about everything about me up until last year and having boys around didn't help, they were great to have around sometimes, but they were best in small doses. And the kids who went to the co-ed schools were just like us, I guess we might learn a little bit differently and they might emphasize different points than we do but we get along with them (well there are a 3 schools that we play that i really can't stand. the whole league gets labeled as a schools for stuck up rich brats, and really only 2 schools in the league are like that and everyone agrees on that). I'm not sure if I would make all public schools that way but it'd be nice for parents to have the option of where they think their kids will learn better.

[CrewDust]

I'm not sure that going to single sex schools are the answer however having single sex classes might be a good idea espically in middle school and high school.

[Jacen McCullough]

I'm not sure that going to single sex schools are the answer however having single sex classes might be a good idea espically in middle school and high school.

I think single sex schools/classes are a good option. I personally feel that education gets too bogged down in people looking for "the answer" (not picking on you CrewDust, just the general attitude I've seen from politicians and a number of parents). People seem to want to find a panacea for the "problems" of the educational world and then force that solution on every school. The problem is that people learn differently. For some students, an all boy or all girl school may be ideal. For others, it might be suffocating. The key, in my opinion, it to have as many options as possible so that parents and teachers can identify what option best suits each student.

[Levante]

I went to an all-male college where I got a great learning experience. It can work. I wouldn't, however, send my own kid to a single sex high school, catholic school, or home teach him or her for that matter.

[CrewDust]

I think single sex schools/classes are a good option. I personally feel that education gets too bogged down in people looking for "the answer" (not picking on you CrewDust, just the general attitude I've seen from politicians and a number of parents). People seem to want to find a panacea for the "problems" of the educational world and then force that solution on every school. The problem is that people learn differently. For some students, an all boy or all girl school may be ideal. For others, it might be suffocating. The key, in my opinion, it to have as many options as possible so that parents and teachers can identify what option best suits each student.

The problem with single sex schools is what if a district has one high school? Who's going to pay for the other?


Now, as far as social skills, I went to co-ed schools and classes my whole life yet still have crappy social skills.

[superplex]

Article (http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=519&e=2&u=/ap/single_sex_schools)

Lots of research has been done on this. I am going from memory... but I remember the boys staying about the same with a little increase in grades/test scores... and the girls going up substantially.


There's even an organization in favor of single sex schools... here (http://www.singlesexschools.org/).


What do you think? I think that some single-gender public schools are a good idea.


Single sex school sucks. How come students only study without having sex?