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The truth of single-sex education
The truth of single-sex education
Essay about single-sex education
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Can Single-Sex Education Be Beneficial?
Although it is against the law by title IX, scientific research and expert opinion suggests that single sex education is more beneficial for both males and females. Single-sex is an old theory that is quickly gaining more attention (Stanberry). The National Association for Single-Sex Public Education project that there are around 400 public schools now providing some form of single-sex education (Stanberry). A push for single-sex education is recent experiments concluding natural discrepancies in how males and females learn in different educational environments. The only downside to putting these experiments into a real-world scenarios is that they are firing up many debates that broaden far beyond pure education (Stanberry). There are many ups and downs of a single-sex education, but the conclusions of positive experiments by many more schools highly outweigh the negative conclusions of fewer schools who did not achieve higher scores.
The earliest single-sex schools in America were modeled off of schools in England and were exclusively for white, wealthy, Christian boys. Although it is illegal for a school to be single sex, many schools today present single-sex class opportunities. But the scientific research shows that males and females concentrate harder and perform better when separated into single-sex classes.
For many different reasons, several separate schools have begun to test the effects of single sex education in public schools (Pollard). In recent years, coeducational classes were believed to be an important aspect of k-12 education environments. Even as late as the 60s and the beginning of the 70s in areas of the US, boys and girls were put into different classes each day (Po...
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...mathematical skills because they are not surrounded by boys who are claimed to “dominate the classroom”(Hyde). Some who say single-sex education is ineffective and/or undesirable make many different claims such as Students in single-sex classrooms will eventually live and work with the other sex. Teaching students in single-sex schools limit their chances to work together and co-exist successfully with the opposite sex (Stanberry). In other words there are several different, logical arguments against the idea of single-sex education.
There are so many pros and cons of single sex education. Even though it is illegal to have a single sex school, single-sex courses have been presented to students willing to volunteer to take them. A few critics make some very good arguments against the theory but this is a case where the benefits simply outweigh the disadvantages.
It seems that single-sex education perpetuates gender stereotypes and promotes gender bias among students (Taylor). Gender-separate education requires schools and teachers to create gender-oriented courses, facilities, and learning environment. As a result, sing-sex schools exacerbate sexist attitudes and “feelings of superiority toward women” (Guarisco). It is fair to argue that the best way to achieve gender equality is to promote rather than eliminate interaction among girls and boys. However, girls in the sex-mixed class receive less attention from teachers than boys, which may lead to gender bias. More precisely, boys always have disciplinary issues, such as interruption; teachers have to pay more attention to boys’ behaviors in order to proceed the lecture more smoothly. Girls may feel less important and supportive in male-dominated classes; boys may think that males are smarter and far superior than females. Single-sex schools can address both girls’ and boys’ issues of gender stereotypes directly and accordingly. Male students may be freer to engage in some activities they have not considered before in mixed schools. For example, boys feel pressure to follow some non-macho interests when girls stay around them; however, the all-boys schools eliminate their pressure toward gender stereotyping to pursue music, dance, and drawing. Single-sex schools would help boys explore and develop themselves. Also, girls in sex-separate schools show more confidence and power (Guarisco). They could receive full attention from teachers and express their opinions in science classes without worrying about the boys’ banter. They may realize that they are as important as boys. Hence, both girls and boys can be free from gender stereotypes and benefit from a same-sex learning
There is a long history of single-sex schooling, in which males and females attend specific classes or schools only with members of their same sex. This separation of genders may be done for educational purposes or in combination with other factors, such as social interactions that occur between male and female students. There is some support for the idea that single-sex schooling can be beneficial, especially for outcomes related to academic achievement and more positive academic aspirations (Lee, 2008). Although, there are many benefits of children attending single-sex schools, evidence shows that sex segregation can also gender stereotyping and legitimizes institutional sexism (Kennedy, 2000).
Over the course of the last few years, there has been much opposition over how gender education should be taught in school. Abstinence should be taught in sexual education classes because abstinence is moral. There wouldn't be as many unwed mothers and babies born out of wedlock. Contraceptives that are taught are not guaranteed to protect teenagers from anything, and many people support the teaching of abstinence. It has been said that teaching abstinence-only lessons leaves students misinformed and mislead, but the instructors have a reason as to why they don’t teach on the contraceptive options.
Many people don’t know that single-sex schools actually originated before co-educational schools. Usually it was only the boys who went to school, while the girls stayed home and worked. In the seventeenth-century, Male dominated Massachusetts believed that girls should not be able to attend public schooling. Massachusetts also happens to be the home of Harvard University, which back in this time, only admitted males. (David Tyack and Elizabeth Hanslot, 13) Harvard didn’t begin to accept the applications of women until the late 1970’s.
Single Sex education supporters state that education will be “separate but equal”(Jackson, 2010). There are many reasons why this statement discriminates; history has shown us that this mind set has not worked before. This phrase is synonymous with oppression, segregation, and racism that took place in the south for decades. History has shown us that this is not the answer it is actually an infringement on equality. Single sex education feeds into many gender stereotypes. Single sex asserts that there are only two genders male and female and discounts people who are born intersex. Jackson states, “Because what counts as a standard male or female is subjective, there are no hard and fast numbers...
Most students are against the same school. They want to flirt with the cute guy in math or ask the shy girl in history for a pencil, even if they already have one. Same-sex classrooms provide a multitude of benefits, because they promote better behavior, higher grades, improved self-esteem, and are able to cater to a student’s needs. The same classes make it possible for teachers to cater to student needs in a more efficient way. In general, boys benefit from hands-on learning, but girls benefit from calm discussions (Mullins 3).
“Sex sells.” This is a common phrase used very often in social media and entertainment industries. Today, the youth generation is highly exposed to social media and products of entertainment industries from music to movies on the big screen. Most of the products produced by these industries are sexually explicit, and they tend to send the wrong messages about sexual behavior. Adolescents almost spend the same amount of time watching television and engaging with social media as they do in an educational environment. Therefore, the best way to tackle the misconceptions of sex among adolescents is to provide sex education in school. Sex education should be taught in school in order to provide a mutual learning experience for adolescents among
The teacher tossed a Styrofoam basketball to the outstretched arms of a fifth grade boy. Catching the ball was the incentive for the boys to point out missing conventions in a paragraph. The teacher projected a paragraph on the board with omitted punctuation for the students to add. The other boys in the class watched him as he went to the board to add the missing comma and then tossed the ball back to the teacher. A few seconds later, other arms shot up in the air to point out other missing conventions (Stotsky). A simple incentive of competition for the boys made them enjoy learning and actually got them to participate in class. Although single-sex classrooms can develop stereotypes for both genders, separating boys and girls can be beneficial for the students. Single-sex classes are more effective because they raise test scores, create fewer distractions, and make kids interested in school.
Finally, there is no one sex school is going to be right for every student. There are many advantages and disadvantages mentioned in that essay before. But it's thought all over the world that the coeducation is preferred worldwide. About 90 % of schools all over the world are stuck to co-education. Mixed-sex education has achieved higher success rate. They also graduate students who are settled emotionally and able to deal with the real society. "There are not any dominant blessings for single-sex schools on academic grounds. Studies all over the world have failed to expose any major variations.'' - Academician Alan Smothers, director of education and employment analysis at the University of Buckingham 2011.
The proponents of single-sex education argue that boys and girls have differing needs and that their styles of learning are different. Education which respects personal differences must take this into account. ( Mullins 124) Single-gender schools seem logical, than, to a public that accepts that gender differences are real and likes the idea of expanding choices. (Silv...
The first all female schools began in the early 1800’s. These academies favored more traditional gender roles, women being the home makers and the men being the bread winners. The first generation of educated women was the result of single-sex colleges in 1873. Wendy Kaminer, an investigative journalist, states that “single-sex education was not exactly a choice; it was a cultural mandate at a time when sexual segregation was considered only natural” (1). Women of this time were technically not allowed to attend school with males. Feminists of this time worked hard to integrate the school system and by the early 1900’s, single sex classrooms were a thing of the past. In 1910, twenty-seven percent of colleges were for men only, fifteen percent were for women only and the remainders were coed. Today, women outnumber men among college graduates (Kaminer 1). After all the hard work of early feminists, there are thousands of people today who advocate bringing back the single sex classroom.
Single-sex school is a school in which males and female attend school exclusively with members of their own sex. Some single-sex schools have separate classes other have separate buildings. It has been incorporated as the foundation of educational systems from many years ago. Now, Educational environment has brought back a strong enthusiasm toward single-sex schools. It is an old approach that is picking up new momentum. Schools have an important role to play in preparing girls and boys to listen and communicate effectively. Single-sex schools are very bad because it affects children attitude, learning skills and make them think negatively.
Education has been an important factor of all of our lives for an exceptional amount of time, but unfortunately, America has been falling behind from other nations in their education system compared to other nations (Pahlke 444). Almost all of our public schools in our country are coeducational and only handful of them are single-sex educational schools. Single-sex education should be taken into high consideration for most students to attend because of the benefits they might gain from them. It is important to look at all possible ways to try and better our education system for the benefit of the children and teenagers attending school. The most important years of schooling that provide a solid background for all students would be kindergarten through senior year of high school. It provides the basic knowledge and problem solving skills that will be utilized for most of our lives. In order to ensure that the children and teenagers today are provided with the best quality of education, we want to make sure they are engaged and focused in school and single-sex schools will be able to make that possible for students. Not only will it help our students remain focused in the classroom, it will also provide a comfortable environment for them in which they can enable themselves to learn.
This problem occurs in schools everywhere and is starting to become more evident in today's society. The problem is that boys and girls learning potential are not being reached when put into the same teaching atmosphere. Girls seem to be out smarting boys in many classes. While boys excel in math and sciences and girls seem to be better in English. The styles in which boys and girls feel comfortable with are extremely different. The learning styles of girls usually contain socializing and context. For instance, most girls like to talk in small groups about the current discussion. They also like hands on activities or real life situations to compare things to. Boys are confrontational and formal. They need to be challenged by their teachers to help motivate them to become better students and be prepared. In contrast girls do not like to be confronted by teachers who are asking for an immediate answers. In most cases, girls seem to be more reserved and modest than boys about their intelligence ("What are someÉ) are. Their differences may not seem evident but make a difference to reaching their highest learning potential.
According to World Association for Sexual Health, "to achieve sexual health, all individuals, including youth, must have access to comprehensive sexuality education and sexual health information and services throughout the life cycle" (Sexual Health for the Millennium 4). In the fifteenth century, scientists and educators raised the issue of sex education of children and adolescents. This topic particularly was discussed after the sexual revolution that occurred in the past century, when there were the first attempts to introduce sex education courses first as electives, and then as a mandatory class. Sex education should be taught in schools as a compulsory subject in order to develop knowledge about puberty as well as to prevent unintended pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections.