Same Gender schools - good or bad?

[WEAREBORG4102 0]

Well, the sexual interaction should occur out of the classroom. For example, guys from St. Mark's and girls from Hockaday go out all the time in Dallas.

 

Classes inducive to learning-Honors classes.

[ARMS 0]

Actually, my statement was not ment as contraversial, but could be interpreted as, which is why i'm a little p'd off it wasn't given much thought. I cannot stand arguments, which is why i was pleased to see my point was not the start of one, but ignoring it defeats the object.

 

It could be suggested that males suffer from female distraction in school, which is why we get lower results, this is simply a hormonal imbalance, which is worsened by puberty. Many girls are excused from school for 5-ish days during later years (usually by males who cannot handle the situation), if they get that kind of treatment , why cant a guy get a cold shower after watching the girls do athletics?

 

Anti mixied schools are a form of discrimination, you wouldn't find me complaing about working with anyone.

 

BTW - ARMS is my initials, not Arms, for example who writes vbg or rc?

Edited September 6, 2004 by ARMS

[Theunicornhunter 2]

Anti mixied schools are a form of discrimination, you wouldn't find me complaing about working with anyone.

 

260648[/snapback]

 

Is it - I think your missing an important issue. If boys and girls actually do better in different classroom environments - then you will be placing one at a disadvantage if you put them together in the same environment. So again, the question is - does classroom environment create a difference. As I stated - if there isn't a difference then there may be no need for same sex classes. (other than the social distractions which is a separate issue)

 

To call it discrimination I think you need to answer the following questions.

 

IF, there is indeed a difference in how boys and girls learn.

1. How do you decide which one you favor in setting up the classroom environment?

2. Would you be okay with being the disadvantaged group?

3. Would you be okay with being the advantaged group?

 

And actually it is the lower scores of girls (in math and science) that has prompted the same gender schools - not lower scores of boys.

 

RikerChick Posted Sep 4 2004, 06:06 PM

Learning is not limited to reading,writing and arithmetic, it encompasses all areas of life.

I think that boils down to a matter of parental preference. I would rather my children get a good academic background in school and get their social skills elsewhere. Not all parents would want that and both really should have the right to send their children to the school of their choice. Wealthy parents can already make that choice by sending their children to private schools. I guess the question is whether public schools should offer the less affluent the same choice?

 

As regards the academic issue: Do you the genders learn better in different environments? The evidence seems to indicate they do - although the concentration in studies has been the areas where girls fall behind - math and science. I believe boys tend to do less well in language and communication but that doesn't seem to be an issue with a lot of people (now that is IMO discrimination). This article addresses that U of Alaska

 

The good news is the math/science gap appears to be narrowing. I think TheDaxSymbiont pretty well articulated the situation. Girls and subsequently women, are under performing in the areas of science and math. There has been some question that of teacher discrimination toward girls (the classroom environment) or simply teaching styles favoring one gender over the other (also classroom environment)

 

Other sites of interest:

http://www.mothermcauley.org/academ_spkng/inscape_sum.pdf

 

Here's another article that suggests that it may actually be boys that are being disadvantaged

http://www.education-world.com/a_curr/curr215.shtml

[Theunicornhunter 2]

Anti mixied schools are a form of discrimination, you wouldn't find me complaing about working with anyone.

 

260648[/snapback]

 

Is it - I think your missing an important issue. If boys and girls actually do better in different classroom environments - then you will be placing one at a disadvantage if you put them together in the same environment. So again, the question is - does classroom environment create a difference. As I stated - if there isn't a difference then there may be no need for same sex classes. (other than the social distractions which is a separate issue)

 

To call it discrimination I think you need to answer the following questions.

 

IF, there is indeed a difference in how boys and girls learn.

1. How do you decide which one you favor in setting up the classroom environment?

2. Would you be okay with being the disadvantaged group?

3. Would you be okay with being the advantaged group?

 

And actually it is the lower scores of girls (in math and science) that has prompted the same gender schools - not lower scores of boys.

 

RikerChick Posted Sep 4 2004, 06:06 PM

Learning is not limited to reading,writing and arithmetic, it encompasses all areas of life.

I think that boils down to a matter of parental preference. I would rather my children get a good academic background in school and get their social skills elsewhere. Not all parents would want that and both really should have the right to send their children to the school of their choice. Wealthy parents can already make that choice by sending their children to private schools. I guess the question is whether public schools should offer the less affluent the same choice?

 

As regards the academic issue: Do you the genders learn better in different environments? The evidence seems to indicate they do - although the concentration in studies has been the areas where girls fall behind - math and science. I believe boys tend to do less well in language and communication but that doesn't seem to be an issue with a lot of people (now that is IMO discrimination). This article addresses that U of Alaska

 

The good news is the math/science gap appears to be narrowing. I think TheDaxSymbiont pretty well articulated the situation. Girls and subsequently women, are under performing in the areas of science and math. There has been some question that of teacher discrimination toward girls (the classroom environment) or simply teaching styles favoring one gender over the other (also classroom environment)

 

Other sites of interest:

http://www.mothermcauley.org/academ_spkng/inscape_sum.pdf

 

Here's another article that suggests that it may actually be boys that are being disadvantaged

http://www.education-world.com/a_curr/curr215.shtml

260707[/snapback]

 

I also think VGB makes a good point - there are times you need to bond with your own gender and times you need to mix.

[Gotabite 0]

I graduated from an all female college....... For those of you who are Bill Cosby fans, a number of years ago, he produced a sit-com called "It's A Different World", which was located at A fictional college called "Hillman"....Through out the show, they would occasionally show college buildings supposedly located at Hillman......But,in actuality these buildings were located on Spelman College's campus......the school from which I graduated. Cosby and his wife have had a close affiliation for years with Spelman........and our fine arts building is named after Bill Cosby's wife. Spelman College has become one of the top colleges in the United States, and is no longer just listed as a leading African American Institution of higher learning........

I truly think I can support the integrity of coeducation, while also supporting same sex institutions..........As a mental health professional, I have long been aware of the differences in males and females both from an emotional and physical perspective. Spelman is located in the midst of several other college, two of which are coeducational, the other, Morehouse college is an all male institution. Once a Spelmanite has completed her freshman year, she can if she chooses, take classes at some of the other schools in the area. However, she also has that wonderful opportunity to be empowered, and to get in touch with her uniqueness, and learn to feel okay about being female; about pursuing her dreams, and her education.........She learns how special she is, how to deal with certain issues and subjects that sometimes can only be addressed by the support of others like her. She gains support for her feelings. She learns how to think independently.....because much of her life she has been geared towards striving to be dependent and cared for. Please, understand that I am not knocking relationships..........we all want companionship. But often times females have such a hard time feeling okay about having their own needs met.........They usually put their partners, and so many other's needs ahead of theirs........So, while I support co-educational education; I certainly know the value of being with others and having a support system that can educated you in ways that would not be focused on in a co-educational environment.

[gul_nodrog 2]

I think the best way to get the benefits of same-gender learning and also the social benefits of coeducation would be to split the boys and girls for critical courses such as math, science and English, and leave them together for everything else.

 

Unfortunately, it's easy for we folks in the 30+ age category with children of our own now going to school to say we think same gender schools are the way to go. I certainly wouldn't have said that when I was a teenager, but looking back I really wish it had been that way. It would have saved me a lot of heartache and embarrassment if I had not been so stupid and boy-crazy. I didn't perform half as well as I could have in high school grade-wise because of the constant focus on the opposite sex. Class rooms were for flirting and getting asked out ... learning was always secondary. And I believe I speak for most of the kids I went to school with.

 

What a waste! I wish I could go back and start all over again, knowing then what I know now. I could have been a Rhodes scholar.

[KayTroi 0]

No Way. Children at young ages need to interact with others of the opposite gender. This way when they get older they would know how to act in all situations.

So, no I don't think there should be same Gender Schools maybe same gender classes depending on what is being taught at that particular time.

[mj 7]

I am going to piggy back on Gotabite's comments about Spelman College, an historically black women's college in Atlanta. Gotabite mentioned the fact that Spelman is in an area where there are additonal colleges: Morehouse College ( all male), Clark-Atlanta University ( co-ed....formed from merging two separate schools in that area), and Morris Brown ( co-ed). Spelman College, and Morehouse College are two of the leading sources in the nation of baccaclaureate degrees of African-Americans who go on to earn Ph.D. in the sciences. This is in particular true of mathematics, and at one time (I don't know if it is still true) about 20% of Spelman's udergrads were in math degree programs. Whenever I go to math conferences where students are present, the Spelman women (students) are either giving talks or poster presentations.

 

Gotabite is also correct about the complete development of the young women. They are in no way isolated. Between summer research projects, classes on the other campuses in that four-college conglomeration ( and in math they also have an agreement where Spelman women can attend class at Georgia Tech), they are not isloated from other races or other sexes. For instance the Spelman math grads that I know personally have well-rounded lives. Recently there was a news report about the fact that three African-American women earned Ph.D's in mathematics from the University of Maryland at College Park, a first. One of those women was a Spelman graduate, who had no trouble adjusting to the co-ed U. of Maryland. She is a college professor now, married to a periodontist, and has a full life.

 

The focus of single-gender schools is on the complete development, and young women have the opportunity to be supported and guided by faculty focused on their entire being. They can choose when to be in situations with the oppositie sex, and can remain focused on their eduactional objectives in the classroom.

 

I think in high school there is also some value for single-gender schools. The option should be there, even though it is public money paying for these schools.

[ARMS 0]

I'm with Kaytroi all the way..

[cassidy 0]

I go to an all girls' school, and it does have its advantages. I'd say more so than a co-ed school

[ARMS 0]

Examples? ^

[Angel of Darkness 0]

good in some ways...bad in others....

[Nemesis 0]

The purpose of schooling is not to teach math, or english it is to prepare youths for the workforce and society. Just like how someone could be a physics major and be unemployeed because they did not know how to re-act to his other employees. The problem with same-sex schools is that they don't allow you proper co-develope with members of the opposite sex.

 

An example would be, that I know many people who attend an all boys school, and they tend to have a disrespect for women. They'll say many insulting dirty and sexist jokes infront of them. This is unheard of by people in most of public schools, but is very common in that all boys school, I do not know if it's the same for all schools but it is for that one.

 

There is a school, that I know many for attend which is private. It has normal classes for elementry classes and then for Junior high and High school the males and females attend differant classes but are in the same building and interact with eachother. I believe that is a fairly effective model, for the teenage years are when males and females are very much differant rather then that of elementry students/