Segregation Save Us All

Let me play devils advocate one last time. There is a growing controversy in both the public and private sectors of the national schooling system concerning segregation. No, we are not talking about racism. Instead, our topic today is about gender segregation. In less confusing terminology, the separation of boys and girls in school.

There have several studies and both in favor and against this seemingly archaic system. I began this study against the thought of single-sex classes; when I looked at the research I saw a different picture than I had imagined. For instance, take this experiment, posted in May 2007 on www.singlesexschools.org

“Researchers at Stetson University have completed a three-year pilot project comparing single-sex classrooms with coed classrooms at Woodward Avenue Elementary School, a nearby neighborhood public school. For example, students in the 4th grade at Woodward were assigned either to single-sex or coed classrooms. All relevant parameters were matched: the class sizes were all the same, the demographics were the same, all teachers had the same training in what works and what doesn't work, etc. On the FCAT (Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test), here were the results:

Percentage of students scoring proficient on the FCAT

• boys in coed classes: 37% scored proficient

• girls in coed classes: 59% scored proficient

• girls in single-sex classes: 75% scored proficient

• boys in single-sex classes: 86% scored proficient.”

Question: What is the purpose of early schooling? Could it be to teach students academic skills such as math, reading, writing, science, art, history, etc? If the answer is yes, then why would students not be given the highest opportunities and the best academic environments?

If their abilities rise by boys and girls by 38 and 27%, then why choose coed? One of the largest arguments against single-sex class rooms is the notion of social ineptitude. Proponents of coed schooling often state that children who go to a single-sex school will inevitably end up socially clumsy in regard to the opposite sex, and that this clumsiness will cause them to be less happy throughout their pathetic lives. With this argument, I must humbly disagree. The fact is, I have found absolutely no evidence whatsoever that children become socially awkward through alternative forms of schooling. Therefore, I believe that single-sex schools could be a viable way to increase children’s learning. This just might be the caffein shot our school system needs.