Is same sex schooling a further sign

[mandyky]

of the emergence of the American Taliban? What reason is there to separate boys and girls in Public Schools? I smell a plot but I am not sure where it is intended to take us.

[U of M Dem 07]

1. I don't know...

I went to an all-girls high school (though it was private), and it was a wonderful experience. Most of the people I talk to (from all-boys schools, too) have positive reactions about their schooling there. At http://www.singlesexschools.org the research that has been done on the topic is presented... and they make a very good point.

I can see where you're coming from--the separate cannot be equal issue--but I think same-sex schooling is something that would benefit a lot of people.

[pop goes the weasel]

2. no

There are differences in the average "mental age" of boys and girls so that co-educational teaching does not result in an equal educational experience for all students. Some kids do great in mixed classes, but others really desperately need teaching that takes sex differences into account. I think that co-education should be the norm, but that sex-segregated schools or classrooms or tutoring can be an option even in public schools. It should just never be the only option.

[DennisReveni]

3. "emergence of the American Taliban?, WTF?

I watched Tavis Smiley's State of the Black family ( Strengthening the Black family) last weekend on C-SPAN. They were FOR same sex classrooms.
Seems black males are more active than what the white female teachers are used to. So they wind up in Special Ed more often.
It was also pointed out that in Europe where there are mostly male teachers, young females wind up in special ed more.
I'm starting to see knee jerk liberalism more and more like an episode of the Penn and Teller Bullsh*t show.

[meg]

4. Absolutely!

Then, no schooling for girls, except to learn how to do housework and to please a man

[Stuckinthebush]

5. No...

There are studies that indicate that classes composed of all girls actually enhances the learning environment for those girls. Around 4th through 6th grade, girls start to lose an interest in math and science even though their aptitude for these subjects remains high. Our society rewards boys for math and science ability, but the message to girls is that it is not right for girls to outshine boys in these subjects. Also, in all subjects girls tend to defer to boys in group activities and giving answers to teachers. In all girl classrooms, girls seem to shine.

I do think it is important to have girls and boys share experiences together, so I'm not convinced that single gender schools are the best idea. However, single gender classes especially in math and science may not be a bad idea.

Of course, we then need to examine the societal concepts of "gender".

That's another thread....

[SoCalDem]

15. I agree.. I saw a PBS special that showed how smart girls

"dumb down" once they get interested in boys.. They don't want to show up the boys, because they want to be liked..

In all girls' classes the girls science, math & history scores went up significantly.. They are able to concentrate on the subject, and not on the "cute boy" across the aisle..

Boys do better too, in English classes , since the more verbal girls do not make them feel "dumb".. They are also more likely to feel free to like poetry and art and stuff that they pretend to not like when the girls are there..Their behavior was better too, since they did not feel the need to clown around to get the attention of the girls..

With the early onset of puberty these days, this may be the way we can SAVE public schools.. Fifty years ago, boys & girls led very separate lives until they were almost finished with high school..Now they are "going steady" when they are 12..:scared:

Go with uniforms too and the girls have even more freedom.. Think of how cool it would have been to just get up, put a uniform on, and not have to fuss with make-up and hair stuff....:)


They could still have dances & combined field trips.. Somehow we have got to stop the slide to the bottom of the heap... It could not hurt to at least try it for a few years and see if it helps..

[Djinn]

20. if a girl "dumbs down" in front of blokes

at school she'll probably do it life too, particularly if they havn't had years of getting used to having them around. If your daughter can't be in a class with male student without watering down her IQ then she's got a problem - myself and pretty much all of my female friends did fine at school and now generally have good jobs and earn more than our male partners, and I only WENT to half my classes because there was a spunk in it!

Single sex schooling is ridiculous

Edit - I went to 2 highschools - the first had a uniform and as a consequence the kids there were FAAAAR more obsessed with appearance than the non uniform school I went to for the majority of my secondary school years, where the vast majority just wotre whatever was on the floor and clean

[K8-EEE]

6. I Loved All Girls School!

Believe me we were not at all Taliban-esque, LOL!! My daughter goes to all girls school too -- it's fun. Girls can be goofy together and not worry about what the boys think of it.

[maxanne]

7. I have mixed feelings about this

I think all girls school is good for girls. They don't have to compete with boys, who usually get more attention in classrooms.

I think all boys school can be really bad for boys, a breeding ground for misogyny and good old boy networks.

The genders need to be mixed - after all we have to live in this world together. Private schools can do what they wish, but I don't think public schools should be segregated.

[mandyky]

8. That, and how do rural areas afford 2 schools?

I am ok with some same sex schooling, but I see this mostly as a religious issue. An attempt by the religious right to bankrupt our school systems by requiring 2 systems of education.

[Serenades]

14. people

need to learn to live in the *real* world. In the *real* world girls have to compete with boys and vice versa. We need to learn to interact with one another. WHy should girls be quiet and shy. They should demand attention if they want it. If they have something to say towards classroom discussion they should say it.

[seabeyond]

9. of course

to get boys away from the liberal to endoctrined hi hilter, and to teach the girls there place conditioning in the woman behind the man know your place. follow and be sheep.

wow........they are threatened

fundamentalist be it christian or taliban, yes or hilter, gotta control

[seabeyond]

10. shut down public schools

started with the vouchers and funding christian school with taxes adn now saying out loud get rid of public school and let church base take over. even more scary........

i see first handle their opportunity in control

[ulysses]

11. not sure.

I can see others' point about girls in school not having to compete with the male bias in math and science, although I suspect that that bias will find expression in other ways even with same-sex math & science ed.

There was some talk a while back at the (private, Christian) school where I teach about segregating some classes by gender in order to avoid the evangelicals' great terror, The Adolescent Hormone. As if that'd do any damn good.

Given the problems education faces that could be addressed if we only had the political will to do what was necessary, I think single-sex education is largely a well-intentioned waste of time.

[tom_paine]

12. Yes. And madrassas, too.

Busheviks, Bolsheviks, Taliban, Nazis...divergent philosophies united by the pursuit of Tyranny.

[ulysses]

13. LOL! What would Ferdinand Marcos do?

:D

[BeHereNow]

16. Part Of the Dominionist Agenda...

Teach boys to be good heads of X-tian family households,
and girls to properly submit.
Make no mistake who is lobbying for this.
"America the Theocracy!"
Coming soon to a theater near you.
In the meantime, don't forgwet to see "The Passion!"
NOT!
BHN
A Christrian enraged by the twisting of God's Word.

[Malva Zebrina]

17. yes, it is

there is absolutely no reason for this at all, imo other than to subjugate women.

A woman who is talented and gifted in science should never ever be prohibited from a classroom of males. Never.

A talented and gifted male should never ever be prohibited from participating in ----err what?

and that is the point.

Wome will eventyally become the losers if this is allowed.

[BradCKY]

18. Well I went to a same sex high school

Yes it was Catholic and they "almost" integrated it years before everyone wanted it there (definitely the guys) including the administration but the diocese said no.

I will say this it removed a lot of the "showing off" and "distraction" that I definitely saw in middle school. Guys were really just able to act much more like themselves.

This was a private school, parents have a choice to send their kids there, and I don't think anything is wrong with it.

[BeHereNow]

19. Part Of the Dominionist Agenda...

Teach boys to be good heads of X-tian family households,
and girls to properly submit.
Make no mistake who is lobbying for this.
"America the Theocracy!"
Coming soon to a theater near you.
In the meantime, don't forgwet to see "The Passion!"
NOT!
BHN
A Christrian enraged by the twisting of God's Word.

[ithacan]

21. www.TheocracyWatch.org

Check it out: http://www.TheocracyWatch.org/

Detailed documentation on how the Religious Right has taken over the GOP and is using it to accomplish the Talibanization of the US...

[shimmergal]

22. No, it's not.

I went to an all girls' school for a year in New Zealand. It worked well to minimize the emphasis on "popularity" that makes so many kids miserable during high school years. A girl's "leadership potential" was not dependent on her being able to attract the most popular boys, as it is in so many American co-ed high schools. It really gave girls _more_ self-confidence.

I did have problems with the teaching-by-rote and the very ugly uniforms, but overall the single-sex setup was positive, IMO.