Single-Sex Education vs Coed Education

At the Brearley School, a private school for girls, first grade girls sit quietly at their desks and listen to their teacher as they learn to read. Two miles away at the Collegiate School, boys the same age move restlessly around while their teacher is talking, but they also are learning to read, in a way that works for their gender. Single-sex education gives children more overall benefits than coed education; for example single-sex education teaches the children when they are developmentally ready for learning, and kids put in single-sex education have a greater ability to focus on their work, and to do what they want to do without gender constraints.

It is proven that boys and girls have differences in their brain that affect their ability to learn at different stages in their life. For example, the occipital lobe, which is associated with visual processing, develops rapidly in girls 6-10 years old, while boys show the greatest growth after 14 years old. Language areas of the brain also differ, as research as shown that the parts of the brain that processes language are similar between 3-year-old girls and 5-year old-boys. Dr. Leonard Sax, an author of many books on the science of sex differences says that “In some of the most effective boys’ classrooms for 5-year-old boys, one boy is standing and making buzzing noises, while another is lying on the floor, and another is twirling, but all of them are learning to read.” (Novotney) By separating the two sexes, teachers can teach each sex when they are at the perfect time for learning. With coed schools, teachers have to average what they are teaching out, resulting in some students being slowed down to a lower standard, and other students being rushed through their work wi...

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...ean a lot, and they prove that the way children learn, and their decisions on what they like, are good at, and ultimately what they want to do in their lives definitely differs between single-sex and coed educations.

Single-sex education reaps great educational benefits compared to coed education. In single-sex schools, children are able to learn at a speed that is personallized around their gender, and they are more likely to broaden their horizons on what they are good at, and what they want to do in life. Without the distraction of the other sex, children are able to grow and prosper to their full extent. Although there are some downsides of single sex education in some children, the upsides greatly outweigh the downsides in most students. Single-sex education is a strong option that should be strongly considered for families lookling into independent schools.