Get Schooled

By jim d

October 24, 2006 04:16 PM | Link to this

looks like another go no-where fad to me.

Where’s the proof that it enhances learning? I’m sure a lot of folks will insist it will help by eliminating a distraction—-But where’s the proof?

By Priestly

October 24, 2006 04:43 PM | Link to this

Bad idea. How can we expect young men and women to develop proper social skills and respect for each other if we prevent their normal interaction. Its no wonder why we have so many socila issues today.

By Lola

October 24, 2006 04:44 PM | Link to this

Hey Jim - check out this site: http://www.singlesexschools.org/

They explain the benefits, cite the studies done, and give you a good Basics 101 overview of what it is and why it’s a good idea.

I would love to have my daughter in a single-sex classroom. No more diversions from learning due to unruley boys wanting attention, and no need to worry about flirting or inappropriate behavior between the sexes during class. It’s not revolutionary. It simple removes a majority of the factors that can cause less than exemplary focus on the schoolwork being presented. I think it’s a great idea!

By Great Idea

October 24, 2006 04:51 PM | Link to this

Its about time. Great Plan !!!!

By LB

October 24, 2006 04:53 PM | Link to this

I think as long as it’s an option instead of a single gender classroom only things will be fine. Each child is different. Whereas one child would benefit from having the opposite sex removed from the classroom another may be hindered because his/her motive for going to school is removed.

The option should be carefully considered by both the parent and child. If it does not work for them, an option to get out of the decision should be available.

By Janine

October 24, 2006 04:55 PM | Link to this

Our principal thought about trying this in my Dekalb school several years ago but was quashed by the county. Most of the teachers were in favor of giving it a try…and we had enough volunteers for quite a few gender separate classes…My colleague had asked for a class of all Asian girls….which , at least in our school, would have been paradise!!!!!!

By X-teacher

October 24, 2006 05:02 PM | Link to this

LB, you wrote that a child may be hindered because his/her motive for going to school is removed. If the motive for going to school is to see the opposite sex, that proves that children aren’t there to learn, which is the whole point behind same gender classrooms. Students have plenty of socialization time outside of the classroom—they do not need it inside the classroom.

By conyers

October 24, 2006 05:04 PM | Link to this

it’s not a bad idea or a good idea, it’s just another idea. education is not some sausage making machine, it’s a process of learning and there are lots of different ways people learn. some people might benefit from same-sex classroom settings, it won’t make a difference for others. the problem is that a bureacracy, like a school system, is a difficult place to create individualized learning programs. if same-sex school systems become an option, school choice can not be far behind. parents need to have the ability to opt out of a district or school that offers same-sex classrooms.

By lmm

October 24, 2006 05:09 PM | Link to this

I think this is a great idea. I would put my daughter in one of these classes in a heartbeat.

She is constantly picked on by boys in class and it would certainly be one less thing for her to contend with while trying to get a quality education.

By DwayneL.

October 24, 2006 05:10 PM | Link to this

I think it’s a great idea. Take away the need to dress nice and “primp” to impress the opposite sex and they may focus more on school.

By JR

October 24, 2006 05:12 PM | Link to this

You should listen to the teachers on this one people. The fact is boys and girls flirt with each other, and they will do this wherever they are, however, in the classroom is the not the time. At one school I study suspension went down 50 percent after the school put in same sex classrooms. So people, just listen to the teachers on this one, we are tired of are the stuff between boys and girls. Worn OUT!!!Girls have math 1st period Boys 2nd……What is the big deal!!

By Jason

October 24, 2006 05:13 PM | Link to this

In the real world, this does not happen. Children need to have a strong sense of reality, even in elementary school. This is nothing short of being stupidly politically correct.

Sure, boys will be boys; girls will be girls; but that by NO MEANS that they should be seperated.

In college, classes are co-ed. In the work force, work places are co-ed. Everything in life is co-ed. Why raise kids in an environment that gives them a false sense of reality, a false sense of security, and a complete lack of social skills with the opposite sex? Boys will still beat up and bully other boys, girls will still talk about others and make fun of the outsiders; so what really is the point of this? Do you REALLY think they will be educated any better by doing this? Never. It is simply an excuse or an attempt to make the public school system look better when compared to others. This is the dumbest thing I’ve ever seen.

By A Father

October 24, 2006 05:15 PM | Link to this

A lot of you really don’t have a clue. Lesbianism is the popular fad in middle and high schools today. Don’t let it catch you by surprise like it did me. The kids figure it’s an alternative to getting pregnant. It’s not the boys all the time that’s a distraction or unruley Jimd and Loala. I had to take mine out of her school and get her into another one where it wasn’t so popular. Girls can really fool the parents. You think they are just hanging out as girls. Keep your eyes open and watch the im’s and emails on the internet. You’ll learn quite a bit. I think it is a terrible idea for gender schools. It would just make the butches have a field day on the innoncent girls. I saw an email where one was telling my daughter, she couldn’t wait to get to the college dorm and have her way.

By Michael

October 24, 2006 05:16 PM | Link to this

Preistly said: “How can we expect young men and women to develop proper social skills and respect for each other if we prevent their normal interaction. Its no wonder why we have so many socila issues today.”

If it’s no wonder that we have so many social issues today, without single sex schools, how would changing things make matters worse.

You just want sex in the school bathrooms to continue. We understand.

By Michael

October 24, 2006 05:19 PM | Link to this

“A Father” is right. However, these curious girls are already seeking out or recruiting your daughters at the co-ed High School so what’s the difference. Hee, hee, my friend’s daughter went to Agnes Scott for one semester, she couldn’t take the lesbian pressure. Great academics, but you end up mowing the yard.

By conyers

October 24, 2006 05:21 PM | Link to this

to “A Father”… you need to teach your daughter that “no means no,” whether she’s talking to a boy/girl or a young woman/young man. why on earth would your daughter be engaged in an email conversation with a young woman telling her she can’t wait to have her way with her in the dorm? those types of conversations don’t just happen out of the blue. try an email/IM block for crying out loud.

By SET

October 24, 2006 05:23 PM | Link to this

It’s about time public schools tried something different. Although same sex education has been around forever in church school & prep school settings I don’t remember hearing it attempted in public schools.

It’s just another form of segregation, people. We need to try more segregation until the performances improve. I agree with the earlier post that school is supposed to be for learning the subjects being taught, not for making whoopie.

As far as the same-sex sexual hi-jinks - well, that’s nothing new either. Just so they aren’t doing it on campus. It’s the parent’s job to supervise their kids before and after school.

Jocelyn Elders had a valid point. She should not thave been fired for saying it.

By Jane

October 24, 2006 05:27 PM | Link to this

Bad idea - our children need their social skills and I know it is something my kids love about going to school. They do good in school and the last time I checked they were not having sex in the bathrooms!!! There is always going to be something new out there but in general things are the same at school - it depends on the child.

By SET

October 24, 2006 05:27 PM | Link to this

If parents ever started reading their teenager’s EMail and IMs - once someone explained what all the terms meant - we’d have to put the parents into counseling.

By urclueless

October 24, 2006 05:27 PM | Link to this

Wow…so now all the homos are going to recruit your kids? Really? If your daughter (or son) is experimenting with their sexuality it is more than likely something they learned at home. On topic, in low performing (read that as majority-minority schools and schools with large numbers of poor students) students do better academically with single gender classes. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out why. If you don’t know, SET will be along shortly to fill you in.

By BJ

October 24, 2006 05:29 PM | Link to this

I went to a single sex school during some of my middle school years and I thought it was a good thing. I would have probably gone to an all girls school through high school, had they not burned it down, but it certainly didn’t hurt my character to go to school with only females. I think it would be a great thing, especially for the boys (I have 3 sons, one graduated college, one a senior at present, and the third in the 9th grade). My youngest would certainly benefit from fewer distractions.

By Jerry

October 24, 2006 05:29 PM | Link to this

co-ed colleges? Lesbianism? Reality? Social Issues? I take it that we don’t Have classroom teachers responding to this Blog.

Because if we did, then ya’ll would have a clue that this is a very good way to educate children. I have now teach at an private all male boarding school. Perfect. The boys are learning more than ever, and the All Girl boarding school is across the stree. They move on to Princton, Duke et al. So if it’s good enough for the private elite schools then…..

By Michael

October 24, 2006 05:31 PM | Link to this

Re: out of the blue conversations regarding lesbian sex hookups. Conyers is the naive one. Just like boys out of the blue asking a girl for sex, girls will do the same thing. The girls talk about hetero sex all the time and then one will start asking about homo sex and “let’s try it.” I don’t think boys do that because of the whole getting beat into the ground problem.

By kwn

October 24, 2006 05:34 PM | Link to this

You are right, boys and girls only get social skills from the classroom. They will live like shrews and roam in single gender packs for the rest of their lives if they attend single gender classes. Civilization will die out because they never learned to mingle with the opposite sex. I say keep them in mixed classrooms. I’m reading that social interaction in the classroom now includes oral sex. No worries about the end of mankind with that type of behavior. I say business as usual.

By A Father

October 24, 2006 05:34 PM | Link to this

Conyers, my daughter was saying NO. She wasn’t interested, but that didn’t stop the advances. It’s like they had some type of fraternity on a recruiting phase or something. My daughter likes being friends with everyone, but some of these girls had other things in mind. I don’t believe in email blocks, she’s 17. I won’t be able to block it next year when she’s away in college. I just let the d** making the advances know that i saw her dorm comments, and her comments about “are we a couple yet” and her comments about “it hurts me when I see you talking to boys”. I just politely let her know I saw it and to back off.

By A Father

October 24, 2006 05:36 PM | Link to this

So are they also gonna open up a schoold for the transgendered? You know the girls with their mommas features and their daddys fixtures.

By pokemon

October 24, 2006 05:39 PM | Link to this

by the way, jerry, “ya’ll” is spelled “y’all.” it is a contraction of the words you and all, the apostrophe takes the place of the “o” and “u”, hence y’all.

“I have now teach at an private all male boarding school…” sure you do. and do your students write sentences like the one you wrote? because if they do, they aren’t attending Princton (sic), Duke, et. al.

By Lisa B.

October 24, 2006 05:40 PM | Link to this

I think different approaches work for different kids. A few years ago I had a 13-year-old girl in my 5th grade classroom who turned my male students upside down! Even my best students were totally distracted. The girls in my class hated her, but at least they continued to stay on task.

Gender-segregated classes or even schools don’t stop boys and girls from socializing. I do like the idea of at least some gender-segregation, especially for kids who are struggling. I agree with what SET posted a few weeks ago: we should try everything until something works. I think most of us agree that the one-shoe-fits-all mode of educating children only works for some.

By conyers

October 24, 2006 05:44 PM | Link to this

what does “I don’t believe in email blocks” mean? you’re opposed to them on religious and moral grounds?
it’s great that you and your daughter politely (and i presume strenously) told the person to back off, but why not block the ability of that person to e-communicate. that doesn’t make sense to me.

By parker

October 24, 2006 05:47 PM | Link to this

Why do these blogs always, always go off topic? Does anyone from the AJC ever monitor these blogs?

I thought this was supposed to be about the validity of same gender classrooms. A good idea, by the way.

By linda

October 24, 2006 05:50 PM | Link to this

I.Q. should be taken into consideration here. The higher a student’s IQ the less feminine or masculine he or she will tend to be, thereby not presenting as much of a problem. It is also VERY important that gifted young women have the opportunity to go head to head with smart young men while they are young and self-confident. Sex grouping may not harm students who are not academically motivated, but I would be very opposed to separating motivated and/or gifted boys and girls. Serious students do not let sex differences stand in the way of an education and would lose the opportunity to learn from like-minded classmates. What a shameful waste that would be. Again, a combination of ability and behavior grouping seem more logical.

By A Father

October 24, 2006 05:50 PM | Link to this

No moral or religious grounds on email blocks Conyers. The girl played on my daughter’s softball team, she was also in the band, and at the same school, basically she had more access to her than I did on your average day. I only saw her after practice, after school and then with studying and off to bed, I had basically 2 or 3 hours of the night when she wasn’t asleep. Like I said before, She was a friend of my daughter. She wanted to remain friends with her without being connected as a lover.

By SET

October 24, 2006 05:52 PM | Link to this

I think what urclueless is referring to is the comon knowledge that puberty occurs at different average ages with the different races.

It’s upsetting to the PC crowd to ever have to admit that people are all not the same.

And on topic - you can expect different behavior from the different groups at a given age 10 to 18 based on the puberty onset age average - Among other reasons. So sex-segregated schools may have different results for blacks than asians who are at different ends of the puberty onset scale.

I wonder if the sex segregation scheme will actually have legs?

By SET

October 24, 2006 05:54 PM | Link to this

Parker: It’s a blog. The whole point of a blog is to cover a topic with all the tangents. We learn more this way…

If we all agreed with each other all the time we’d get bored and stop talking to each other. The real fun is seeing where divergent bloggers actually do agree - or where similar bloggers split.

By Patti Ghezzi

October 24, 2006 05:57 PM | Link to this

Yes, I monitor the blogs the best I can while trying to report and write stories.

Let’s keep the conversation to whether single-gender schools are a good idea. If someone is going way off topic and is inappropriate, ignoring him or her is usually the best course of action.

And please don’t get into the grammar/spelling police thing. This is an informal blog. I’m interested in hearing what people think…

Thanks!

By SET

October 24, 2006 06:01 PM | Link to this

Conyers: A Father is right - when you block communication the players often find alternative routes. More alarming is that the parties apparently know each other outside of cyberspace. By allowing the messages to get through but watching them, you will actually keep on top of what’s going on.

And by making it obvious you are present and can see and hear what’s going on whenever you want to, you put a wet blacket on things. The unwanted visitor usually finds more convenient game to pursue in these instances.

Allowing the emails to continue was a tactical move. They can be collected and handed over to the parents of the other person, the school, the police, whoever.

By A Father

October 24, 2006 06:02 PM | Link to this

SET where did you get your facts from? I’d like to read em. Blacks and Asians are at the opposite ends of the puberty guage. LOL, so I guess that means white folks are in the middle huh?

By A Father

October 24, 2006 06:03 PM | Link to this

SET where did you get your facts from? I’d like to read em. Blacks and Asians are at the opposite ends of the puberty guage. LOL, so I guess that means white folks are in the middle huh?

By A Father

October 24, 2006 06:03 PM | Link to this

SET where did you get your facts from? I’d like to read em. Blacks and Asians are at the opposite ends of the puberty guage. LOL, so I guess that means white folks are in the middle huh?

By A Father

October 24, 2006 06:05 PM | Link to this

Patti, I want a job like this. Any openings there. I could do the blogs and free you up to do the reporting and writing.

By conyers

October 24, 2006 06:09 PM | Link to this

i worked in a public school, 3rd and 4th grades, for five years. one thing i’d want if i were a classroom teacher would be a limit to the class size of an all male class!

By SET

October 24, 2006 06:10 PM | Link to this

San Francisco already has a separate school for transgendered, etc. High School students. It was really a safety thing. Everybody is happy with the arrangement (the parents, students in the new school, people from the old mainstream schools rid of the students) as far as I’ve seen in the press. Transgendered prisoners are normally segregated in jails and prisons - whether they want it or not.

But then some of our Hospital Emergency Rooms in CA have to have Red and Blue waiting rooms also. Vets do it for cats and dogs.

Does this count as an on-topic post?

I’ll omit my signature line but most of you know it well.

By we

October 24, 2006 06:22 PM | Link to this

When I taught math and science in a middle school in Georgia, I notice most of the behavior issues were between boys and girls, and there are behavior issues in middle school this state. So having a class of all boys and girls would increase learning, etc. Look folks there are still the halls, lunch, and everything else for the students to interact.

But from a teachers point of view same sex classroom would work, take a poll of all the middle school teachers in this state, and see what they think. It would work.

By OldSchool

October 24, 2006 06:22 PM | Link to this

In the early years of my teaching, I had all male classes and only a few classes with a very few females (for those of you who aren’t familiar, I teach high school drafting). The few girls were in there because they actually wanted to learn drafting. They were focused and did very well. The majority of the boys were good students as well but my all male classes seemed to work at a higher level than the boys in the mixed classes. The girls were almost always as good as the boys regardless.

Now I get silly cheerleader types, clueless cuties, and some girls who are just always lost. It’s balanced with an equal number of girls who are amazingly talented. The boys circle like sharks and create all kinds of excuses to go “help” the girls. Sheesh! I’d just like those guys to grow up and act like the boys from my early days. They ignored the girls once they saw females are just a capable as males. Not now…it’s all about Homecoming, and parties, and prom, and writing silly notes, and posturing.

Give me same gender classes any day…especially if I am forced to deal with FRESHMEN.

By SET

October 24, 2006 06:26 PM | Link to this

A Father - too off-topic to get into here. Not a new or controversial data. Try Googling maturation rates - some researchers feel this subject is related to mortality tables also.

Remember we are talking about group averages not individuals. Within a group seeming small differences in the group averages can correlate to serious difference in group outcomes (ie trauma deaths age 10 to 18, avg age at 1st pregnancy, etc.)

By tc

October 24, 2006 06:28 PM | Link to this

Thank you Old School.

By jim d

October 24, 2006 06:37 PM | Link to this

So let me see if I have this right.

It’s been an established fact that same sex education works for about a couple of centuries and we are just getting around to doing it?

Hmm, guess the next best thing to come along will be depriving students from food since that too can be a distraction.

Patti, You wantna know what I think? Well it’s just pure unadulterated poppycock.

By SET

October 24, 2006 06:39 PM | Link to this

Linda - I read your post. However I still remember the success of the sex-segregated women’s college such as Mills College in CA. Their placement rate for it’s women into graduate and professional schools was superb. Their graduates went to the top of their industries.

However nearly all of these colleges are now co-ed today. I don’t believe the rationale for the segregation has completely evaporated. A high functioning girl can be advantaged in a segregated high school as long as she has access to chemistry, physics, biology, and the other advanced classes the boys do. This is probably just rhetoric because the costs of maintaining 2 schools at equal levels for college prep is not something most school districts see as practical.

Many people feel with good reason that a typical academically inclined girl will not do her best in class with academically competitive boys. It doesn’t matter why or who is the active player. If you have a Mills College type school handy and your daughter wants to go to med school your odds may be higher by having her take bio-chem or whatever under those conditions.

But like everything in life, there is a price. I can’t say which will work better in 2006 but I think the idea (of sex segregated teaching) still deserves a serious chance.

By jim d

October 24, 2006 06:41 PM | Link to this

Why same sex education alongside of regualr classes will fail.

The largest reason is that the kids will consider those in same sex classes as gay.

By A Father

October 24, 2006 06:44 PM | Link to this

One more reason I disagree with separation by sex. Who’s gonna watch the teachers? You know, the ones that molest. Now if she can have all the boys in one class, what a party she’s gonna throw. one of the main reasons they got caught in the mixed class is because the boy couldn’t keep his mouth shut and his jealous girlfriend ratted on him. Now with all boys in there together, it will never be told.

By ssschooled

October 24, 2006 06:46 PM | Link to this

I got my best education in single sex schools in the 50’s and 60’s. They were integrated and way ahead of the times. The classes were taught as if learning was my JOB! I was expected to learn and not socialize in the classroom - that was for after school hours. It disappointed me that my children did not have the same benefits in schooling that I did. These teachers are just going back to a system that works.

By urclueless

October 24, 2006 06:51 PM | Link to this

oh…now we shouldn’t have single gender classes because the teachers are perverts? Are you 13 years old or something? Most teachers, as most adults in general, really don’t WANT your kids. For what its worth…if your daughter was on the “softball team” she was probably looking for a girlfriend anyway!

By Joe

October 24, 2006 06:52 PM | Link to this

STUPID!

By A Father

October 24, 2006 06:59 PM | Link to this

Well urclueless, if you belive that, then you surely belived that all girls in a classroom are looking for girls, huh? You open your fat mouth about me being 13 and you make an idiotic statement like that.

By Keep it Real

October 24, 2006 07:02 PM | Link to this

EXCELLENT idea! School aged kids need to be learning, not flirting or worrying about how they look to that guy or this girl. They will have enough time for all that once they have received a decent education. School is not for socializing and it’s not a fashion show…therefore, uniforms are also a good idea. It puts all kids on a level playing field.

By urclueless

October 24, 2006 07:08 PM | Link to this

And everything you have posted is brilliant? Go back and review the stupid things you have posted. You sound like the typical “head in the sand” parent. I guess it would be more comforting to you to think your little angel is performing “favors” on the boys in the school bathrooms rather than on the girls…to each his/her own.

By Straight-A Student

October 24, 2006 07:11 PM | Link to this

Hahaha…yeah right. They’re never going to make this a widespread thing for academic classes, so I really think you guys are all getting upset about nothing. But as for my personal opinion, I don’t think it’s a good idea. Because believe it or not, some teenage girls are just friends with guys and vice-versa. We’re not all flirts. And real life is co-ed. So you’re going to take away my friends and my opportunities to improve my social skills? I don’t think so. And as far as academics go? If a student wants to get good grades, they can do it no matter who is in their class. Using co-ed classes as an excuse for laziness is ridiculous.

By QuestionForPatti

October 24, 2006 07:17 PM | Link to this

On topic: I think it’s a great idea. Unlike so much else, it doesn’t require a lot of paperwork, or a lot of outside consultants (who require a lot of paperwork to prove they’ve been “consulting”).

It’s nice and simple…if it doesn’t work, they can always mix the classes again…

Re: Patti and “chronically underwhelming Carson…” You’re NEVER going to get a PR job with Atlanta Public Schools writing like that:)

I’m curious (if you care to answer) how your working relationship is with Atlanta Public, as more than any reporter I’ve seen work the Atlanta beat, you actually report on what’s going on, and NOT just what they WISH you would report about…

Do you ever get pressure from higher ups on the editorial board to tone it down? Just curious…

By Fulton County Mom

October 24, 2006 07:20 PM | Link to this

Wow, so much diversion. I have read social science reports (I will have to link them back here) that have said that girls will under achieve acadmically to keep from appearing too smart to boys. If this is a true fact and not some skewed statistical document, then by all means lets make some classes homo-gendered.

The focus in schools should be on learning. Dances and some other social settings (religious buildings?) are great places to intermingal with the opposite gender.

The single gender classes/schools are not going to promote “preferences.” Apparently the 16 yo who took that Mother of 3s life was in a Christian Co-Ed school and was asking a same gendered friend for “favors.” Wake up people….there is more to life than “favors”

School should be for learning….after these posts it’s a no-brainer how we rank BOTTOM every academic polling.

By SET

October 24, 2006 07:23 PM | Link to this

A Father: Your posts don’t read like an adult. Personal comments and outbursts - lack of emotional control - are the hallmark of children. We have had kids posting on this blog before and they always give themselves away in this manner.

Between the spelling and grammatical errors and the raw emotions, it’s reasonable for people to suspect you are a student. The rest of us aren’t perfect in these but your posts are too far out of the adult norms here: Too much like South Park.

By Lisa B.

October 24, 2006 07:24 PM | Link to this

I think some of us forgot the part of the article that said students and parents would “volunteer” to participate in gender-segregated classes/schools. If students or parents disagree with the concept, those students would certainly not be forced to participate. This would be a VOLUNTARY EXPERIMENT.

By Lori B.

October 24, 2006 08:14 PM | Link to this

Great idea. Honestly, I wish that we hade more male teachers in grade school as well. I get sick of these cutesy female teachers all the time.

Yes, my 6 year old had a great female kindergarten teacher, but I would perfer more divirsity.

Colleges give scholarships to students of color and students from other countries, to diversify the campus. School districts should find ways to recruit not only teachers of different ethnic backgrounds, but elementary schools need to recruit more male teachers.

If I could send my son to an all boys school, or at least a school with more male teachers, I would do it in a heart beat!! and I would pay money for it as well. I know that all boys schools exist, but I want it to be in my neighborhood, not in another state or something.

By Jeff

October 24, 2006 08:20 PM | Link to this

From a male (and a teacher to boot!):

I INTENTIONALLY keep my room somewhere around 60 ALL DAY, EVERY DAY. One reason: Dress code. High school girls get the point and cover up…. my 6th graders right now (some of whom are more developed than some SENIORS I taught last semester) haven’t QUITE gotten the picture yet.

Point being: For a male student - ESPECIALLY an early adolescent- for whom puberty is just setting in, females can be a down right DEBILITATING weakness at times. So separating them is a GREAT thing.

If you separate them, the boys will have more knockdown drag out fights, and the girls will have much more emotional classes… have y’all SEEN how PETTY females are in general, PARTICULARLY the middle school variety?? But that can be dealt with, and will actually make each group stronger in the long run.

Professional opinion (as well as personal): Looking objectively at both the benefits and the weaknesses, I say separate them. The benefits seem to outweigh the weaknesses, and as has been pointed out: SOME kind of change is OBVIOUSLY needed….

By Jeff

October 24, 2006 08:22 PM | Link to this

From a male (and a teacher to boot!):

I INTENTIONALLY keep my room somewhere around 60 ALL DAY, EVERY DAY. One reason: Dress code. High school girls get the point and cover up…. my 6th graders right now (some of whom are more developed than some SENIORS I taught last semester) haven’t QUITE gotten the picture yet.

Point being: For a male student - ESPECIALLY an early adolescent- for whom puberty is just setting in, females can be a down right DEBILITATING weakness at times. So separating them is a GREAT thing.

If you separate them, the boys will have more knockdown drag out fights, and the girls will have much more emotional classes… have y’all SEEN how PETTY females are in general, PARTICULARLY the middle school variety?? But that can be dealt with, and will actually make each group stronger in the long run.

Professional opinion (as well as personal): Looking objectively at both the benefits and the weaknesses, I say separate them. The benefits seem to outweigh the weaknesses, and as has been pointed out: SOME kind of change is OBVIOUSLY needed….

By Rusty Williamson

October 24, 2006 08:30 PM | Link to this

I attended all male Lanier High School in Macon (a public school), which was not only all male, but also had the bonus of being a compulsory Army ROTC school. Yes, we had 1,000 male high schoolers drilling with authentic WW II M-1 rifles. We wore uniforms three days a week.

It was indisputably an interesting and fairly unique (by the standards of the larger world outside Macon) experience. I would have to say that the obvious drawback of a lack of full social skills was in fact serious. Boys and girls basically got together on the school bus, and at church. It made the few opportunities rather intense. One should not be forced to navigate the already difficult experience of puberty under such circumstances.

But, there were benefits, too. Like it or not (and at the time, I confess I fell into the latter group), a guy had to learn discipline. It made my subsequent military years a lot easier.

One last bizarre footnote. Our formidable athletic teams were burdened with the rather unmacho moniker of “Poets”. Might as well have called us the “Sissies” or, well, you get the idea. It’s hard to believe that school existed with all male military into the 1970s.

By MC

October 24, 2006 08:37 PM | Link to this

I had a friend two years ago who went to Pinecrest Academy in Forsyth County, a very expensive Catholic school separated by gender. I had no trouble believing him when he said boys and girls would go nuts with each other come lunchtime, when they weren’t separated.

Maybe kids wouldn’t necessarily give each other “favors” in the bathroom as often, but I guarantee a new set of problems would develop. Teenagers, especially in today’s climate, are nigh impossible to entirely manage.

By teachkids

October 24, 2006 09:13 PM | Link to this

Boys and girls are amazing, equal, but extremely different. They learn differently, sit differently, attend differently, process information differently. My biggest concern here is not our girls. I think as a nation our girls are doing quite well and will continue to do well. Our boys are not being challenged. Our schools are teaching and treating our boys as if they are girls. I am a teacher and a mother. The current system in place favors girl behavior over boy behavior. For example in the classroom it is not acceptable to participate in debate or argument, Few lessons are geared toward this type of lesson planning. Debate can be a highly motivating tactic to use with the male population. It is seldom used because female teachers do not prefer this mehtod. Another example is the lack of project oriented assessment that uses real life experiences to teach for lifelong learning. It si much easier to give a pen and paper 45 minute test to a 3rd grader than to set up a system of hands on learning in the classroom. I have 2 boys and 1 little girl on the way. I would definately put all of my kids in same sex classes. I think it would definately put my kid’s education first. I do not think they need the distractions associated with coed classes.

Now off I go to assess papers and design great projects.

teachkids

By sunschild57

October 24, 2006 09:42 PM | Link to this

I attended an all female High School and a majority female College and I am glad I did. School should be about learning, not developing your social skills. Going to a same gender school does not stunt your social growth. If you are outgoing, you’re going to be that way no matter where you go to school. If you are an introvert, you will be that way in a co-ed school too. Are home schooled children social misfits?

I wonder about parents who think that schools are a place or one of the main places to develop social skills. These are probably the same parents who leave sex education and discipline up to the schools.

Most of my High School friends went on to college and successful lives as mothers, wives and businesswomen.

There are quite a few Women’s Colleges in the U.S. Mount Holyoke, Wellesley, Smith, Bryn Mawr, Barnard, Wesleyan, Mary Baldwin, Brenau, Spelman, Agnes Scott and probably more. Diane Sawyer, Cokie Roberts, Jackie Onassis, Nancy Reagan, Barbara Bush, Hillary Clinton, Margaret Mead, Martha Steward all went to Women’s Colleges. I think most of these women turned out OK.

I think same sex schools help develop a sense of self and self confidence. I think you worry less about who’s dating the popular kid or the latest fashion craze or hairstyle and more about learning.

What’s going in your head is more important than what is on it.

By Stephanie

October 25, 2006 08:19 AM | Link to this

I want to see the research. From the article, I couldn’t see that there was research that fully supported the decisoin to move forward with this fad.

By Edgar Taylor

October 25, 2006 08:20 AM | Link to this

Wow! I think it is a great idea. Same sex education would eliminate a whole lot of riff raff. Males need this the most in my opinion. A lot is going on in the body of a puberty aged male. Sames sex would give them the opportunity to focus on education and not girls. A lot of fights and bad behavior would be elminated if girlswere taken out of the equation. For the most part girls would excel even more than they already are. Girls don’t have as much trouble focusing as male students.

By Can't Wait!

October 25, 2006 08:36 AM | Link to this

I think it is about time. I think it will be a great thing for children and I cannot wait for it to become more widespread here in Georgia. It will be beneficial for those boys who don’t have a father figure to have a male teacher in an all-boys classroom, they need that authoritative figure in their lives, and little girls should focus on learning and not looking pretty to get the attention of a boy. Great, Great, Great idea!

By zincc

October 25, 2006 08:38 AM | Link to this

A Father - You MUST be an IDIOT to think that same sex classrooms will lead teachers to sexual immorality with students. It doesn’t matter what type of classroom, if the teacher wants to do something he/she will! Personally, I think the same sex classroom would be something worth trying, after all, “back in the day” those types of classrooms were utilized and they worked!! Let’s try that because what we have not just doesn’t work for most kids.

By tls

October 25, 2006 08:43 AM | Link to this

Single-sex schools are nothing new and have been proven to work well. Most of these schools have brother/sister schools and there is plenty of social interaction.

I attended an all-girls high school. Our brother school was up the street from us and we had dances each month, participated in school plays together, the girsls cheered for the boys varsity sports teams, etc…

The separation only occured during the academic day. Most of my friends from high school, like me are married, moms and have had successful careers.

By Martha

October 25, 2006 08:53 AM | Link to this

I am a former teacher, mom and a grandmother. There are pros and cons, of course. I graduated from an all women college. It was a great environment. No distractions.And of course I dated guys from other colleges, etc. No problem. However, high school is a little different. It is all about social interaction and learning how to get along with not only the same sex but the opposite sex. I think in a perfect world this would be ideal. I would like to be the one who taught in a school like this! I must admit, it might help in the learning atmosphere. Girls seem to be more emotionally mature and think about “more serious” matters than guys in these grades, especially the sixth-eighth grades. It just might work? The person who wrote that some girls or guys would fit in more easily than others might be on target with this. Definitely, one would have to be willing to give it a try. Option maybe, not mandatory. At least someone is “thinking” along the lines to help our young people. Thanks p.s. let us all do some more brain-storming on this one.

By Robbi

October 25, 2006 08:56 AM | Link to this

I would welcome this! But not because of children “flirting” with one another or because boys are an “unruly” distraction, but because boys and girls on average have different ideal learning environments. This would allow teachers to customize their learning environments around their same-sex classroom’s needs. For example, boys learn better when given more frequent opportunities for physical activity and more hand-on interactive learning opportunities, while girls can sit still and quiet much longer than boys, and can thrive better in a lecture type atmosphere with less physical activity. These different learning needs have been documented repeatedly, and same-sex schools have been shown to be successful.

By Greg

October 25, 2006 09:01 AM | Link to this

Anyone who has spent time around young children knows that boys and girls develop differently. Boys usually favor gross-motor physical development, while girls excel in fine motor skills much earlier. It is time to acknowledge that boys and girls are, in fact, different. These differences make the job of teaching both genders together very difficult. This is probably while SO many young boys end up on ADD/ADHD medication…..

By KA

October 25, 2006 09:07 AM | Link to this

Linda, Your obserbvation at 5:50pm yesterday was the best. “It is also VERY important that gifted young women have the opportunity to go head to head with smart young men while they are young and self-confident. Sex grouping may not harm students who are not academically motivated, but I would be very opposed to separating motivated and/or gifted boys and girls. Serious students do not let sex differences stand in the way of an education and would lose the opportunity to learn from like-minded classmates. What a shameful waste that would be…* **a combination of ability and behavior grouping seem more logical”

By Jeff

October 25, 2006 09:10 AM | Link to this

Robbi:

I would say that boys NEED to learn the discipline involved with lecture style classes.

The SINGLE GREATEST THING anyone can do for a man - of any age - is to teach him discipline. Secondarily, he needs a purpose. EVERYTHING else will follow after the boy/ man has those two things. (And THAT is research proven!)

By Mom of 3 kids

October 25, 2006 09:18 AM | Link to this

Why is it people insist on research? What happened to trusting those who went and got a degree to teach our kids?
When did we stop being parents to our kids? It seems that we let society impose our judgement instead of using what our parents and grandparents used (Values, Morals, Involvement). Yes, the world is crazy nowadays and parents work, work, work but that is not an excuse. If you go back to the basics - then you shouldn’t need research, worry whether your child will fall in love with the same sex, teacher having a relationship with your child, and all these other worries your post on here….Come’on parents - wake up! Who is rasing who here?

By James Bryden

October 25, 2006 09:19 AM | Link to this

Girls and boys don’t need to go to separate schools but having them attend classes seperately will be helpful. I can remember that the beautiful girls were a distraction when I was a teen.

By Paul

October 25, 2006 09:25 AM | Link to this

I am a product of single gender high school and thought I missed something from a social skills perspective that my counterparts had. Instead of single gender, has anyone discussed the dress code issue. Having everyone dress the same takes a lot of competition out of the picture and focuses the attention back to being in school for education.

By kf

October 25, 2006 09:25 AM | Link to this

i think it’s a great idea…i’m a young, recent college grad, and i remember middle school (in particular) being a very hard time for me, primarily because of the social issues. middle school is always hard for everyone, but it seems like if you were to separate (and i really think only for grades 6-8, so as to not hinder the growth of social skills) girls and boys for class, that children would be more apt to speak up, and less threatened by their peers.

i know that girls bully each other based on the way they look, their cliques, etc., but i think that if the boys weren’t around they would feel like they would have to do this less…not to mention, that i remember feeling very shy around boys at this age.

By sk8ingmomma

October 25, 2006 09:29 AM | Link to this

Yay!! I am a product of and HUGE proponent of single sex education.

I attended co-ed elementary & junior high schools and an all girl high school. My high school was WONDERFUL!

Btw, I’m socialized ;)….Went on to graduate from a nationally recognized university with honors and received a scholarship to law school.

By MMM

October 25, 2006 09:29 AM | Link to this

Is this the single answer to all our problems? NO

Might is be helpful or desirable sometimes for some folks? YES

Should systems be barred from trying it and parents choosing it? NO

Will we ever get flexible enough to try things that might work and drop things that don’t seem to be working? I CERTAINLY HOPE SO, BUT RIGHT NOW I’m NOT FEELING VERY ENCOURAGED.

By Patti Ghezzi

October 25, 2006 09:39 AM | Link to this

QuestionforPatti: I would describe the relationship I have with the PR and press contacts at the school systems I cover, including Atlanta, as professional. They have their job to do, and I have mine. The vast majority work hard to get the media the information requested.

I ran afoul of Atlanta Public Schools one time. I posted a blog entry on it.

I write stories that are positive, stories that are negative and stories that are neutral. I try to report on a variety of topics that interest readers. I try to be fair.

Regarding the description of Carson. I have visited the school several times. There are some bright kids. There are some active parents. There are some good teachers. But the end result is not good, with huge failure rates on the CRCT and too many kids ill prepared for high school. I don’t know if the single-sex schools will help the kids in that community. It’s my job to report on it either way.

Hope this helps.

Patti

By RW

October 25, 2006 09:55 AM | Link to this

Separate has never been equal in the history of public education. This is one more way to excuse offering dumb-downed math and science classes to girls while expending the best teachers and resources on boys.

By Bill

October 25, 2006 10:07 AM | Link to this

Uniforms. Metal detectors. Now seperate schools or classes. Sounds like prison. Mind control of our free thinking young people.

By Leigh

October 25, 2006 10:08 AM | Link to this

I have 3 daughters and I am vehemently opposed to gender based schools.Some Parents have allowed their children to advance to early sexually and socially.Separating the genders will encourage the lesbians to go after the weaker girls. The same is true for the young men.

Co-ed mingling/learning/living is the reality outside of the classroom. If they are to cope successfully in the modern world, then they need to develop their social skills as early as possible. Social skills are important as most of us know that work in offices whether from home or traditional office location. Gender based schools seem to be a step back into the 50’s mentality. What’s next - racial segregation?

By Michael

October 25, 2006 10:23 AM | Link to this

I’ve been gone from there for twenty years, but in DC/Maryland all the Catholic High Schools were single gender and we managed to continue to populate the world without becoming gay and lesbian. My friends outside Philly went to a girls Catholic High School with the boys High School across the parking lot. they have managed to get married, divorced, remarried, etc.

Catholic schools give the best education for the money and they don’t kick kids out as fast as a tony private school might because their mission and funding is quite different. Besides Montessori, are there any other “franchised” private schools besides the Catholics?

By Jeff

October 25, 2006 10:26 AM | Link to this

Bill:

If you think that the MAJORITY of students actually THINK in schools, you are SADLY mistaken…..

(Though there are some measures beginning to take effect that are trying to change that…)

By Stephen Watson

October 25, 2006 10:36 AM | Link to this

This is a SUPER idea! They separate male and female students in Iran and Saudi Arabia too.

This will help instill the values of the Koran and the superiority of men over women. Plus, it brings back the long-missed “separate but equal” that we all thought was gone after the Civil Rights Movement.

By Greg from Marietta

October 25, 2006 10:40 AM | Link to this

No, No, No. Sexually segregated schools are a horrible idea!! It is not representative of our society or of the natural order of life. Next it will be uniforms, short hair and a regimented life style. Do you want our children (and I have 4 of them) to become socially isolated robots? If these education administrators were worth a tenth of the exorbitant salaries that they are paid they would group children by their learning potential, not their sex.

By Jenni

October 25, 2006 10:43 AM | Link to this

My husband went to an all-boys high school and his sister went to an all-girls high school. The sister has more confidence than many girls I know. And unlike many girls of our generation, she didn’t think she always needed to be in a relationship. She has many girlfriends. She also knows how to act around men.

Just because you go to a single gender school doesn’t mean that you will never interact with the opposite sex. My husband and his sister both had many activities at school which brought the genders together. All school dances, for example, were for the two schools. Music and athletics also brought the two genders together.

I would personally be very much in favor of my children attending single gender schools. I hope this catches on.

By Ex-Student with MBA

October 25, 2006 10:46 AM | Link to this

This is not a good or bad idea. It’s a DUMB idea. This is the system trying to find another way to screw kids up even more. How about the children all go to an all girls or all boys college, then an all women or all men graduate school. Better yet, why don’t we have a society of men on the left and women on the right. What happens when we finally come together for our career?

What about the children who are confused about gender? Where does parenting come in? When do parents take responsibility for their sons and daughters? Don’t allow your daughter to were the little skirts that show her underwear when she sits down. Teach her to demand respect. Teach the little boys to respect women. Don’t teach them that it’s manly to treat women like property. Be a role model for your children. Teach them that the Bible says it’s wrong to committ not only fornication but sleeping with the wrong sex isn’t acceptable…no matter what society says.

And stop letting the law-makers, who are only about money, tell you how to raise your children.

Those of you who agree with this haven’t given it much thought or you have problems with your children and you think this is a way to solve that problem. Trust me…it’s not. Spend time at any mall in metro-Atlanta and watch the pre-teens and teenagers. Then watch the lonely adults lurking around. You’ll soon figure out that your child(ren) need you to teach them how to interact in society…not separate themselves.

Question: Why do child molesters (mainly caucasian men) not get tougher sentences for the crimes they commit? Yet, we are willing to give a 17 year old male (usally black) 10 years for sleeping with a 15 year old female (usually white) when the female probably pursued the male?

Again, I remember being a student. It wasn’t that long ago. And I have relatives in high school.

By frankie

October 25, 2006 10:47 AM | Link to this

I don’t see the point. What are we trying to do; reduce distraction between boys and girls; increase learning.

If you go to school to learn, you should not care if a gorilla is sitting next to you as long as that gorilla is there for the same reason.

We are so much about integrating/segragation that we forget what we are truly after. With all things being equal, I am for taking the gifted kids (black, white,asian, etc) and placing them in their own school.

See the problem is if the kids male/female are a distraction to one another, then I say that is matter for home. those children need to learn discipline. A teacher should not have to spend several minutes out of class time correcting a childs behavior or attitude, that is the distraction, so separatng them will not do any good until you instill discipline. A room full of boys will be just as distracting to the boys that came to learn and the same for girls…

By PHR

October 25, 2006 10:48 AM | Link to this

I had already looked into sending my son to a private school that does separate genders in the classroom. I think it is a great idea. It doesn’t even have to be a separate school, just separate classes. I think boys and girls learn differently.

By Maconite and Proud of It

October 25, 2006 10:53 AM | Link to this

For all of the newcomers to Georgia, Macon had high schools segregated by sex from 1916 until 1970. Three generations of my family went through them, from 8th trhough 12th grade. There were few discipline problems and everybody got a chance at having a great education. For example, I was able to take two years of Latin and three years of French in a plain ol’ public school.

Also when I wanted to take courses like advanced algebra and physics and there wasn’t enough interest by the girls to support having a separate teacher, we took the clases with the boys. The schools were paired up so nobody missed out on football and basketball. And each school got ot have its own newspaper and clubs so that both sexes got to run things the way they wanted. In other words, the girls weren’t second-class citizens. And, as far as I can tell, we did not have a greater incidence of lesbianism than the population at large.

With the massive desegregation program put in place in 1970 which split , renamed, and recombined all the schools, nearly 60 years of great experience with single-sex education went down the drain. I teach at UGA and from what I see of the generally sorry and ignorant “HOPE Scholars” who clutter the campus (only 70% of these people ever graduate), we might as well try this again.

By Bree

October 25, 2006 11:03 AM | Link to this

Mr/Ms Maconite - Really? Second class citizen? Are you really serious? I can’t believe you posted that part of your opinion. The world doesn’t operate like that. So why, please explain why we should school our children that way. Let’s take some responsibility as parents. Can you agree with that?

Mr/Ms PHR - Boys and girls learn differently? Do we really? Is that your opinion or a noted fact? I was smart as or smarter than most of the boys in my class and I don’t remember my teachers approaching or teaching me any differently than he/she did the boys. And for the record, I grew up with a single parent and three other children in the household.

By Ex-Student with MBA

October 25, 2006 11:05 AM | Link to this

Let’s not get started on the teachers who are having relationships with the little boys. Same sex class roooms? This is a bunch of crap…and the smell just keeps getting stronger.

By chambleeswimmer

October 25, 2006 11:07 AM | Link to this

If this story had come out a year ago, I would have thought that single-sex education was a bad idea. However, this past Spring, I completed my student teaching in at an all-girls’ school in South Africa.

There were some co-ed schools in the area, though most of the schools were single-sex. The schools would routinely host functions for the students to interact, after school. The students came to school prepared to work, not socialize and get dates. They spent far less time on their appearances (ie- after gym class) and more time in class.

I’m not saying that that system is inherently better than co-ed schools but shouldn’t we at least offer it? Since the school system will allow anyone who doesn’t want to go to the single-sex school to transfer to another school, why not try it?

As for those that keep bringing up separate but equal, I am pretty sure that we have a litigious enough society that ANY foul will be spotted and fought. Of course, the complexities of keeping score cards between the boys and girls could discourage systems from going to this.

By Ex-Student with MBA

October 25, 2006 11:08 AM | Link to this

Let’s not get started on the teachers who think it’s okay to have relationships with the little boys. And when they are caught they plead insanity or claim they are in love with a 13 year old. Same sex class rooms…yeah right. This is a bunch of MESS.

You can’t even trust a Rabbi these days.

By SET

October 25, 2006 11:14 AM | Link to this

“Next it will be uniforms, short hair and a regimented life style.”

Yes, Greg, it will be next in our public schools. May the day come soon.

By Donna

October 25, 2006 11:14 AM | Link to this

I think it will stop the sex in bathrooms, and it will stop the little hot tailed girls from studying boys and more on books

By Class of '83

October 25, 2006 11:19 AM | Link to this

How many times I have said thanks over the years to the fact that my high school/college years were in the ’80s. I suppose this topic will serve as another reason why …unbelievable.

By MA

October 25, 2006 11:27 AM | Link to this

It would be great in elementary school. The girls and boys already treat each other like they have “cooties” and choose to segregate by sex. Since girls and boys at that age have different learning styles and abilities a teacher of girls could use fine motor skills while a teacher of boys could use more active ways — hands on experiences, etc. to teach the same concepts. The boys’ behavior would not be compared to the girls’ and fewer boys would be labeled as “bad” or “ADD” when they are just behaving like boys. I would gladly teach in a same-sex classroom. (I would want the girls’ class!)

By LITHONIA

October 25, 2006 12:05 PM | Link to this

What are we preparing these kids for???? Life productive or a life in prison??? Next you’ll have just male teachers to teach the boys and female teachers to teach the girls. But be careful cause this could fall prey to “politically correct” because what if these teachers are “closet homosexuals” than what. Leave the public school system alone. Gets these Teachers to “teach the subjects” so all of the “Georgia” schools will make “AYP” every year. When you start giving these options to go to a different school, then you have overcrowding, more trailers, larger class sizes, bigger issues than “BOys on one side, girls on the other”. Its like telling a small child “Don’t touch its hot” what do they do”they touch it”. Get back to real education. You want seperate gender classrooms in public schools, you are better off opening an “all boys school and an all girls school” then let these parents choose that school to send there mis-fits tooo. But make sure you have the same sex teachers there, so that way we won’t have teachers of opposite sex having sex with the students in the bathroom.

By LS

October 25, 2006 12:08 PM | Link to this

2 schools of thought here. One, it may help to curve teenage pregnancy. Two, we may have an increase of punks and butches created as a result of same sex schools. (Look at Morehouse and Spelman, I rest my case.)

By Class of 92

October 25, 2006 12:08 PM | Link to this

This will greatly hinder their social skills. Boys and girls need to learn at an early age how to deal with each other. How will they know how to act when they get out into the working world? No wonder kids are more screwed up every year. I’m so glad to have grown up in the 80’s. I don’t think I would have survived school today.

By Lisa B.

October 25, 2006 12:18 PM | Link to this

MA,

You take the girls, and I’ll take the boys :-) I don’t mind the hyperactivity of the boys, but get tired of the constant drama with the girls. In fact, a couple of years ago, a co-teacher and I were going to split up our classes according to gender, but we both wanted the boys, rather than the “Hot Mammas,” we had in 5th grade that year. Now I teach 4th grade, and the girls aren’t nearly as hormonal!

By Scottie

October 25, 2006 12:20 PM | Link to this

Let me please say that there is no such thing as “Lesbian Pressure” at Agnes Scott College. There are no more lesbians at women’s colleges than co-ed institutions. It is a more welcoming, open, and accepting environment where lesbians will not feel threatened. And if a female can’t handle Agnes Scott, it’s not because of the lesbians on campus. A women’s college is not for everyone, but success doesn’t relate to your sexual orientation. The facts are there to support that women’s college graduates will go farther than co-ed graduates.

By GaLiberal

October 25, 2006 12:21 PM | Link to this

Why stop at sex segreated classes? Why not required girls to wear veils or better yet burqas. In fact, why allow girls to get an education at all. After all, they will only be used for babys and housework. Sounds like they could be homeschooled and not waste of taxpayer money. Maybe thoes Muslim fundamentalists have it right after all. Plese excuse my bad speling, but I was educated in a bisexual school.

By lou

October 25, 2006 12:37 PM | Link to this

This is GREAT!!! Finally some common sense for kids education. The Citadel can return to normal too.

By Joe T

October 25, 2006 12:39 PM | Link to this

Let’s try it. What wev’e been doing for the last 30 years hasen’t worked. \The bigest failure in America is our public school system. Just shoot up here amongest us, one of us needs some relief.

By SET

October 25, 2006 12:52 PM | Link to this

GaLiberal: A History Lesson - sex segregated schools were used in the 20th Century to advance women - particularly women into lab sciences and advanced studies.

The logic is the same logic that supports Historically Black Colleges. The protected minority can better get established by not having to compete with the dominant mainstream who would walk all over them academically & politically in the earlier stages of the education process. Alternatively the protected minority for some reason ceased to compete in the face of the mainstream competition. The exact reasons weren’t as important as the resulting numbers.

Morehouse, Spellman and the other black colleges (had?) have a tremendous record for feeding their graduates into white graduate schools after finishing undergraduate studies in chemistry, biology and such. Likewise for Mills College (CA) and other women’s colleges. If the blacks and the women went to mainstream colleges (at least through, say, 1975) the grad rates in the prerequisites for Med School and other select majors was not good. Even now I believe the segregated schools have better numbers.

After 1975 the white schools were more interested in diversity and things changed somewhat. But the principle still stands.

If you were a family making plans for your children’s generation and you had a daughter or black children or either sex, you look at the percentages and the numbers and place your kid where you have the best odds of the desired outcome. People are not talking about sex segregated schools for health or religious reasons. And as one poster pointed out, this is a “by-choice” option for the students anyway.

So nobody we are talking about is interested in putting their daughter in a burka. They are interesting in getting their daughter into a Chemistry, Physics, or Biology degree or such. The planning for these academic careers now starts with kindergarten I suppose.

I for one support parents having as many options as possible for placing their child at every level of education. Let them vote with their feet. The thing is, the voting is going to be for segregated schools. Hmmm, it’s History repeating…

By Happily left teaching

October 25, 2006 12:54 PM | Link to this

It never ceases to amaze me when the public gets riled up over such a trivial matter. Having same sex classrooms will prevent the distractions of adolescent courting behavior—at least in the classroom itself. That is indisputable. Will the education of those involved improve because that distraction is gone? Yes, but only marginally.

You people don’t care about the education of the young. If you did, you would be working on the real problem—reducing classroom size. This is the the single biggest obstacle to learning. For those who demand research, go look it up yourself. Al Gore did you a favor by inventing the Internet. :)

The answer is not paying individual teachers more (though God knows they deserve it) the answer is building more schools and hiring even more teachers. Put your money where your mouth is. Until you (yes, you—don’t blame school administrators) quit putting 30 students in a classroom—public education won’t improve a bit.

By SET

October 25, 2006 01:08 PM | Link to this

I don’t think research shows class size determines good education results.

Not only that, I don’t remember being in K through 12 classes of anything less than 30, including lab sciences and algebra.

What I do remember is iron fisted discipline, including at my public high school where people were expelled up to 2 weeks before they would have graduated.

Classroom Discipline is the determinate of educational progress, this includes attendance & tardy policy, turning in all your work, as well as classroom deportment.

In my public high school, people who failed to attend or failed to perform were removed from the school. They were transferred to a ghetto continuation school.

It was amazing how smart my graduating class turned out to be.

By Nja

October 25, 2006 01:19 PM | Link to this

Some of these opinions are very SCARY!

Let me see what I learned here today. 1)Single sex classrooms will make you gay 2)Single sex classrooms will cause your children to become prey
3)Oh yeah, let me not forget single sex classrooms will cause your children to become social misfits.

Thanks for the laughs today.

Forget Brave New World. Scary New World.

By Debi

October 25, 2006 01:22 PM | Link to this

As someone who was a product of same sex class education 35 years ago, I think its a mistake. There are definite social skills that only can be developed in a mixed classroom, plus the challenges in the mixed class only enhance the process not deter from it. The parent who sites an unruly class with distractions is looking at a disiplinary issue that should be addressed regardless of the make-up of the classroom. This behavior will only be delayed in being addressed if you take the sex ratio out of the picture. Girls need to learn to compete with boys and vice versa. What better place to start then in a classroom?

By Ernest

October 25, 2006 01:34 PM | Link to this

SET expressed my opinion with the following statement, I for one support parents having as many options as possible for placing their child at every level of education. I wouldn’t mind seeing this in a middle school setting with two academic teams split by gender and the others as co-ed. The laws of supply and demand along with the outcome will determine if same sex classrooms is a viable option. If there are enough children for either an accelerated or slower pace, those could be coed also.

Along the same lines, we are also seeing segregated schools today based on housing patterns. Choice programs combined with transportation could be a remedy for under and over utilized schools. Do we want to give this a try?

By matt

October 25, 2006 02:07 PM | Link to this

Ummmmmmm how is this supposed to enhance learning again? How does this teach kids how to interact and socialize on a daily basis with members of the opposite sex? Why don’t we try and put back some discipline in our schools first! I’ve been a school teacher for 20 years and I can tell you that discipline these days is a joke!! We are not teaching responsibility to these kids. We continue to hold their hand, give them 4,5,6,7, chances becasue we don’t want to hurt their self-esteem. Well I got news for some of you people. College professors don’t give a damn about your self-esteem. Neither does their future employer. If our goal is to get these kids prepared to face the real world (college, work, military) then we’re not doing it. If our job is to baby these kids and teach them that they don’t have to be responsible for their actions then we are doing FABULOUS job!!

By JILL

October 25, 2006 02:43 PM | Link to this

WHAT IS THIS, 1945?

By Tom Dobeck

October 25, 2006 02:58 PM | Link to this

I attended an all boys technical high school in Chicago but I sure wish it would have been co-ed. With all guys there was always an argument of some kind and someone who thought the were badder than the next guy.

By catlady

October 25, 2006 03:24 PM | Link to this

I must laugh at those who think students won’t know how to socialzie if they go to single-sex classes. Folks, our adolescents KNOW how to socialize! Maybe not appropriately, but that is a subject for another blog.

I would have sent my children to single-sex schools if they had been available (not just single sex classes). My mother, all my aunts, and both my daughters are graduates of women’s colleges, and it had positive results for all. Some of it is self-selection, of course, but a disporportionate percentage of top female achievers graduated from women’s colleges.

Seeing the posturing and preening that goes on in middle and high school, I have no doubt about the positive effects. And the old, tired arguement that having the girls there keeps the boys civil is untrue at best, and self-serving at worst.

I would suggest further reading for those in strong opposition to this. There are quite a few reputable studies out there of single sex education from elementary school to college. Better yet, go spend a day at your local middle school and watch the interactions in class and in the hallways, then see what you think.

By OldSchool

October 25, 2006 04:11 PM | Link to this

Okay, bloggers…let’s go back to the original paragraphs, read them carefully and find the magic word VOLUNTARY.

If your child’s school offered same gender classes and participation is VOLUNTARY, that means you are NOT required to enroll your child in those classes. You can allow your little darlin’ to socialize and fraternize and whateverelse-ize to his or her heart’s content. I’m sure YOUR child will put his/her education above all else.

Now, let’s take a look at the EQUAL OPPORTUNITY part. Does that mean funding for girls’ classes will be equal to that of classes populated by the football team? Why of course! Just look around you now, don’t girls have a state of the art fitness room that balances the football teams weight room? Yeah, right… (For the record, I just decided I missed being targeted by bloggers who type first and read (or not) later.)

By jim d

October 25, 2006 04:22 PM | Link to this

OH MY JEFF,

Indeed the kids DO think, perhaps not what you’d have them thinking but to paint kids today as non thinkers is a huge mistake.

What are they thinking about? well take a guess and it won’t change just because of gender separation.

The fumes, car and pur, take hold of most boys early in high school and in some cases middle school. We as adults need to learn to deal with it not attempt to ignore it.

Yes my friend, separation by gender is merely a feeble effort on our part to blind ourselves to a much larger issue by simply not being able to see it.

By jim d

October 25, 2006 04:27 PM | Link to this

Right oldschool,

Mine would opt for same sex classes (NOT) he’s a typical 16 year old male. (LMAO) Thats why this concept is doomed.

By OldSchool

October 25, 2006 05:33 PM | Link to this

jim dear, I don’t think the concept is doomed. I honestly believe there are enough students of both genders who would embrace a single gender class. That doesn’t mean their entire school day would be spent in single gender classes. Likely there would be a very flexible schedule so those who are attending school purely for the social aspect (and believe me, their numbers are legion!) could have their mixed classes and others could have their single gender ones.

We might all be surprised if such options existed.

By Jerry

October 26, 2006 09:16 AM | Link to this

Not a chance. The social interaction with the opposite sex is a necessity. My 10-12 grades were in a all boy school. It was an effort by local officials to minimize segregation. I would hate to see this draconian approach to education revitialized. It SUCKS!

By OldSchool

October 26, 2006 05:13 PM | Link to this

Okay, Jerry…go back and read Patti’s paragraphs. It’s voluntary. Our high school students have way more than enough time to socialize (appropriately and inappropriately).

Don’t you think that the single sex classes would likely be the academic/core classes? Vocational classes, band, drama, chorus, journalism, cat-flinging, etc. would most certainly be co-ed…although I would LOVE single gender classes in Engineering Drawing!

(I was just kidding about cat-flinging. That would be about as popular as tackle-tennis.)

By Periwinkle

October 26, 2006 05:19 PM | Link to this

I have wanted this option ever since my oldest child started school. Great idea. This should have been considered years ago.