Teaching Boys and Girls Separately

VISITORS COMMENTS: 18

(18) Jake, 29/5/2008

The primary reason teachers are hired is to make sure students learn the curriculum. There is nothing in my contract that says I will ''create lifelong learners'' or expose them to things that will give them ''street smarts''. We need to stop putting that much burden on teachers and let them be responsible for realistic, measurable goals. If research proves that boys and girls will perform better separated, then let it be that way. Kids can mingle in a coed environment in other venues.

(17) Girl, 23/3/2008
I disagree
I believe mesa and nic said it best. I have always gone to public co-ed schools and they weren't in the best of places. It would be nice if education would be more individualized to each person's own learning style, seperating based on gender does not solve that issue. I have seen a shift in that direction at college and with my son who is now in middle school. The biggest issue I have with seperating the sexes for education is that haven't we fought for things to NOT be seperated, I work with men and women, I don't get to chose. Whether I have to compete, interact or work as a team, it is with both. I don't believe sheltering my child from our co-ed world would be in his best interest. He has to learn to learn in the world. If he can't be spoon fed education than that is his (and my own) struggle, he certainly won't find work or life to cater to his own individual needs. He must learn to be strong in the world that we all live in. Life is interaction...with everyone.

(16) Anonymous, 14/3/2008
there is no one answer.
I work in a public high school as a guidance couselor. I send my 14 year to private school. Next year she starts high school, and I truly feel there are pros and cons in both schools. Who is to say if she goes to an all girl school, she wont meet up with boys across the street during lunch. Children need to be in their "natural " environment in order to be street smart. Unfortunelty, that's what you need today to survive. There is more competition in an all girl school because they only have each other to compare with. I pray that with all the good values I instill in my daughter, she makes the right choices no matter what school she's in.

(15) RJE, 13/3/2008
Teacher misspelled same word twice in comment.
My apologies for the criticism, but, as a teacher, Anonymous 3/11/2008, really should learn to spell "definite" and "definitely." (Think "de-finite" "not finite.") I do hope that he or she has not mis-corrected students' spellings of the word.

(14) nic, 12/3/2008
an important lesson
the world is co-ed. schools are responsible for more than academics- they teach socialization. children need to understand and appreciate differences. isolating children in gender segregated schools fails to address these issues.

(13) MESA, 12/3/2008

Everyone has been talking about the different strengths of boys and girls. The problem is that it's not that simple. Individual children have their own individual strengths, which need to be noticed and encouraged by parents and teachers. Single-gender education, in and of itself, does not do that.

What's more, to promote single-gender schools on the basis of "allowing boys and girls to express their unique strengths" sounds a bit ominous. It sounds as if a girl whose strengths are more "boyish" would need to quash those in favor of more "girlish" things, and that boys would have the same problem. Not good.

Having been in both kinds of schools, I can say that there are pros and cons with both. I don't have brothers or any male relatives in my age group, so I had no idea what to do when I had to deal with men as fellow students (in graduate school) or as colleagues. And that's not good either.

My suggestion would be co-ed elementary schools (so that boys and girls can learn to deal with each other as human beings before hormones kick in) and single-gender schools after that (so that boys and girls can be less self-conscious and express themselves better). Either way, we need schools that can work with each child's individual strengths and help each child learn and grow.

(12) maurice, 12/3/2008
why focus on strengths, should we flush the weaknesses
It is very important to also focus where the weaknesses are, to bring to bear a complete education. Where boys are stronger in conceptual ideas such as algebra etc and physical sciences, the girls focus on language arts and social studies( with the exception of economics) Should we wait until they are adults 18+ and then face the problem that the men cannot communicate effectively orally or on paper, or that the ladies cannot measure a diagonal to put up a curtain on a corner window. Has every one forgotten the power of competition? The idea of that I can be as good as the next person etc. Did anyone survey the boy/girl results of the standardized test and find a way to balance the results, so that both genders do well across the chart or should we continue the imbalance and say that is our role in society. I find a good example in the authors dual degrees that proves my point where her educational and intuitive strengths are.

(11) Anonymous, 12/3/2008
Gender separation
I believe in gender separation for boys and girls in schools as long as there is not a vast difference in curriculum.
Only a few of our classes (Scottish schools a long time ago) were gender separated but the girls did sit in rows that were separated from the boys' rows.
I noticed that in the senior classes when they mixed us there was too much distraction.

(10) Rochel, 11/3/2008
Agreed
My son attends an all boys' school and the teachers all attended all boys' schools and the curriculum is geared for them specifically. I see my friends' kids, who attend co-ed schools, and I have already decided that my children will not EVER go to co-ed schools past the age of 4. I was a substitute teacher's aid in a Pre-1-a where there were boys and girls together, I thought the armosphere was not so symbiotic. On the other hand, when I volunteer at my son's school, yes, boys are wild, but they are doing so much better. They play less class politics. They learn what pertains to them. I belive that boys and girls should have totally different curriculums, since their rolls in society are so different. (That is hard to swallow for some, but it is the truth!) Their G-d given rolls should be nurtured, and through this they will thrive...

(9) Ezra, 11/3/2008
Avoid sweeping generalizations
As a teacher who has taught in mixed and boys schools, I think that the picture is very mixed with advantages and disadvantages for each system and every child is a different case. However, I find value in boys and girls meeting each other so they begin to understand each other.

I would say that the most boys I teach don 't have excess energy and most girls I teach don't talk in class. Maybe it just depends on how good the teacher is or the expectations of what is good behaviour.

(8) Out of the pigeonhole..., 11/3/2008
potentially dangerous half-truths
I read the article you're citing, and I'm embarrassed for the reporter, who took unvarnished opinion from Sax and gave it a much better hearing than any (cough) research on the topic, of which there is a ton! (With largely inconclusive results.)

Why do I say dangerous? The gender essentialists are taking away some of the good things Rebbitzen Braverman and other commenters identify, like the chance for girls to display more leadership, instead of making them act in even more stereotyped ways.

I guess, as a former little girl who loved to drum on things, I just see this as a way to make those few of us who don't fit in (or my sister, who aced advanced shop class) even more miserable.

Morality and values are not magically conferred just by separating boys and girls (as many of you know), nor are they impossible to convey in a coed setting. Both kinds of schooling can be great or awful. But this semi-scientific stuff over-emphasizes gender differences... how do you want people to treat your young-boy-the-budding-artist? Or born-to-be-an-astronaut active daughter?

(7) Kyle, 11/3/2008
gender based education is wrong!
Education should be personality based. Just as Siegel says there are boys "less wild," there are girls who are "more wild" than our society's rigid gender definitions suggest. And it pains me that Jewish attitudes re-enforce the notion that all boys have to be athletic- or at least active- to be considered a real boy?
And what about gay boys like myself? I was certainly never distracted by females in my class.
What we need in education in general is not simply one plan for everyone, and if that doesn't work try another plan, we need many plans and we need to give students with their parents' guidance options based on their individual needs!

(6) Anonymous, 11/3/2008
C. Seigel is correct
I didn't get a chance to read the New York Times article, but I have been teacing middle school in both single-sex (boys and girls) and co-ed Jewish schools for 10 years. Two things are very obvious to me. 1. Girls definately thrive much more in single sex classes. They are more likely to participate and focus. 2. Boys definately thrive much more in mixed classes. They are so much more creative, better behaved and focused.

Many of my colleagues have concurred with my findings. Unfortunately, it doesn't provide an easy answer.

However, all students need teachers who understand differentiated learning as well as teaching to different learning styles. Then, hopefully, all students can thrive.

(5) Liora Sitelman, 11/3/2008
Bryn Mawr College
I go to Bryn Mawr College, an all women's liberal arts college near Philadelphia, and I completely agree with Mrs. Braverman's article--single sex education on ALL levels is most certainly the way to go. It is a shame more people do not realize that there IS a difference between the sexes, and that that difference is a GOOD thing. Going to Bryn Mawr gave me opportunities that Iotherwise would not have had at a co-ed institution.

(4) Daniela, 10/3/2008
Just make sure the education is equal
As long as no assumptions are made about what each gender can learn so that no one misses out on any benefits of education. If the girls are taught as much science and math and the boys are taught as much language arts, separation is fine. Historically, however, girls too often get left behind since it's assumed the highest education they'll ever get is toward that MRS degree, and too often boys are not taught to be well behaved from the start or how to respect their surroundings or other people.

(3) C. Siegel, 10/3/2008

My kids all attended single-sex schools, and while I have no difficulty with the idea, it doesn't fix everything. In general, it's great for adolescent girls, who are free and assertive in ways that girls in co-ed classes are not. Younger girls also benefit from not having those boys around to disturb everything--more gets done. However, a stint working at co-ed elementary schools convinces me that little girls have a very beneficial effect on little boys. They are more civilized. The girls are definitely a moderating factor for the boys' behavior. At all-male elementary schools, the monkey house atmosphere makes it harder for the less wild boys to thrive.

(2) Anonymous, 10/3/2008
True but...
I don't doubt it's true. However, does anyone know any school that really trains its teachers to take these differences into account when they teach? No school is that accomodating.

(1) Zissi, 9/3/2008
I agree
I agree 100% with keeping boys and girls separate. Both genders will learn better, be less self-conscious of the other gender (especially girls around boys) and not have to worry about whether the boy/girl that they have a crush on likes them instead of school. I teach junior high school so I know from experience. Even in the elementary schools, boys are more active than girls and need their unique strengths played to instead of criticized.