More handpicked essays just for you.
Gender difference in teaching and learning
Advantages of single sex schools
Advantages of single sex schools
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: Gender difference in teaching and learning
Echo Wu
Western Literature
Mr. Trani
Nov. 15, 2013
Is Single-Sex Education Beneficial?
Nowadays as choosing schools for their children, many parents have a greater intent to consider single-sex education besides the various choices of mixed-sex schools. Single-sex education, whose existence lasts several hundred years but still “fresh” to a lot of people, has gained a strong attention across the United States: Is single-sex education really beneficial for students? Known for their specific education, single-sex schools offer well-designed classes for only boys or girls due to their different physical features and characteristics; this separation is beneficial to both physical and intellectual development of students.
However, as single-sex education receives more favorable attention, people opposing it declare that too specific concentration and gender separation could cause problems to students’ psychological and integrated development. According to their understanding, students receiving single-gender education lack the opportunity of accessing to the other gender and probably...
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
It has been noticed that the amount of boys who are reading has greatly decreased, and men are shying away from jobs that involve reading. David Brooks has come up with a solution to this problem; he believes that single-sex schools would help boys and girls to achieve better grades, to gain more of a desire to read, and to break free from gender stereotypes. In the article “The Gender Gap at School”, David Brooks is correct in his stance, boys and girls should go to single-sex schools in order to help them succeed; therefore, boys will be more likely to do better in class if they are reading books that they are interested in because they can have more of a desire to read, can have more understanding, and can be taught differently if needed.
It is very crucial to enforce comprehensive sex education rather than an abstinence-only program to be taught beginning in middle school for kids ages 11-18. When sex education is disregarded and rejected, problems may occur. "Sexuality is part of who we are as human beings. If you demonize it when you 're young, it becomes much harder when you get older." (Shah) Kids and teens acquire information, if not provided with some, about sex from friends, the Internet and more but, the information they are learning may not be correct. When, if ever, should kids learn about sex?
According to Leonardo Sax, the founder of the National Association for Single-Sex Public Education, “...whenever girls and boys are together, their behavior inevitably reflects the larger society in which they live” (Stanberry, 3). (1) It is a part of nature for girls and boys to socialize and get prepared for the real-world and develop skills to interact with another gender. (2) In the real-world it is conventional for both genders to work together and communicate everyday. (3) According with the journal “Forbes”, when students are separated by gender, they miss an opportunity of working together with different perspectives and developing their own, new, and unique thoughts as well as ideas (Saunders, 1). (4) Advocates often argue for schools to be a reflection of a ‘real’ world to prepare young adults for the future (Jackson, Ivinson, 15). (5) When both genders learn together, they learn from one another and benefit from absorbing various learning styles (Saunders, 4). (6)
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).
It is not a big secret that America’s quality of education is sub-par. According the article, “US 17th In Global Education Ranking; Finland, South Korea Claim Top Spots” by Amrutha Gayathri, it’s obvious from the title alone that the United States is falling behind. Without change, the United States will continue to be behind in education. An issue that currently plagues the American education system is gender bias. Gender bias in schools has been addressed in laws, but it still persists in American schools, such as Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 and the U.S. code Title 42, Chapter 21 regarding Civil Rights. Both laws attempt to discourage gender bias through the illegality of gender discrimination. Title IX addresses bias in federally funded educational and athletic programs in schools and colleges within the United States. Title 42, Chapter 21 of the U.S. Code prohibits discrimination based on gender, age, race, religion, and other characteristics within a number of settings, including education. Despite these laws, gender bias is still prevalent within American schools. A proposed solution to gender bias is gender segregated classrooms, which has proven to be a popular alternative to co-ed classrooms. Leonard Sax, author of “Six Degrees of Separation: What Teachers Need to Know about the Emerging Science of Sex Differences,” is a leading proponent of single-sex schools. Single-sex schools are not without critics though. Jaclyn Zubrzycki’s article, “Single-Gender Schools Scrutinized,” claims that single-sex environments “are not inherently beneficial for boys or most girls.” When considering both Zubrycki’s and Sax’s findings, it would seem that the ideal solution to liberate the American education system of gender...
“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.
The supporters of single-sex education believe that students are greatly interested in the educational process itself, not caring for their appearance or behavior. These types of schools help students acting freely without any motivations. Series of studies have proved that boys' and girls' brains are organized differently so each of them needs special treatment. Also each gender has its own privacy in joking and talking seriously. The scientists who support the theory of single sex education contribute their opinion religiously, saying that all religions call for separating both sexes as it is forbidden and against the religious teachings. They also think that mixing both genders inside any place is an evil deed that leads to committing sins that all religions forbid and say that there will be a severe punishment in the judgment day .While opposite opinions think that both sexes should exist together to grow up and learn how to be...
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...
Single sex education is a controversial battle that will most likely continue for decades. However, research and studies have shown in multiple cases and circumstances that single sex education is an extremely important tool that should be utilized in numerous situations. Many people think that dividing students based on sex will perpetuate gender discrimination; however, this kind of education may bridge more gaps than people realize. Not only do boys and girls develop and function differently, they are distracted by one another. Eliminating distractions and making classrooms conducive to each gender and learning style will ultimately result in a tremendous incline in academic grades and student participation.
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.
...having a hard time in their early educational career due to the lack of focus or lack of a comfortable environment, single-sex education should be highly considered. In order to obtain our goal, we must be willing to try these new routes of education; you never know what can happen and you just might enlighten the student in their educational course by changing the environment in which they’re learning in.
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.