Separate Classes for Girls and Boys

One of our middle schools will separate boys and girls for English, Social Studies, Science, and Math classes this year. Do any of your schools do this?

I went to an all boy high school. I don't know about academicly (isn't this practice more for the girls' benefit?), but socially I think it was a disaster.

I'll never forget freshman year in college when I ran into one of my former classmates. He was having a tough time adjusting to college and to my shock, one of his problems was he couldn't deal with smart girls in the classroom!

I do not think it's a good idea at all. A friend of mine went to an all-girl school, and the shock a being in a co-ed college was pretty intense. As to academics... WHY? I know of all those studies showing girls doing better in math without boys around, but I think a far better solution is to actually work on the girls' self confidence. And in subjects such as history and literature, it's wonderful for class discussions to have both male and female perspective.

If there is one subject I can see wanting to seperate boys and girls for, I'd say gym -- it can be quite embrassing for adolescent girls.

Personally, I think it's important, at least in the elementary schools, that boys and girls are mixed. They learn from each other many important "social" graces and how to interact with each other. I think that girls (sorry guys) push the boys to be better academically........just my own observation here, but I think that there have been studies done.......42

we do that in *Sunday School* at my church in Kenai... but that's so they can talk about issues that deal with them in jr high and high school that sometimes they don't want the other gender to hear

personally I think health class(or at least sex ed) should be seperated... because of the immaturity of some(mostly guys but there were a few girls who would just not shut up) so that it was more relaxed. No girl wants to discuss certain subjects with a guy in the room... just my thought on that though...

I dont like boys my age at all, so Im in all girls. We start having co-ed in jr year, and boy, are they *awful*. Not all of them, but most. Its like, hello, you arent in jr high...time to grow up. At least math and science are still seperate.

I think there are some subjects, ie PE, that really should be single sex, no matter what. Health is another one. Sex ed with the boys was always sooo hard on me in jr high. Id always beg my parents to sign the excused note so that I wouldnt have to go though all that.

show 42 said:

Personally, I think it's important, at least in the elementary schools, that boys and girls are mixed. They learn from each other many important "social" graces and how to interact with each other. I think that girls (sorry guys) push the boys to be better academically........just my own observation here, but I think that there have been studies done.......42

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I agree. But the poster above mentioned Middle School. So chances are that elementary classes are still mixed.

I'm intrigued by the concept and sort of like it. I mean if they are still in the same school and can socialize at lunch and recess and extracurricular activities, then I think it could be a good thing. Burgeoning adolecence can be a HUGE distraction between the sexes (not the case in elementary school) and affect academic performance. Not to mention the countless studies that prove that teachers unconsciously call on boys more than girls, thus establishing confidence in boys and less so for girls.

Piel said:

One of our middle schools will separate boys and girls for English, Social Studies, Science, and Math classes this year. Do any of your schools do this?

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Was a reason given for making this change?

Here is another tought on gender seperation: when I went to school in Russia, though it was co-ed, we had seperate classes for cooking/sewing for girls, and woodworking and such for boys. Sexist as this sounds, it was actually rather nice.

Ptichka said:

Here is another tought on gender seperation: when I went to school in Russia, though it was co-ed, we had seperate classes for cooking/sewing for girls, and woodworking and such for boys. Sexist as this sounds, it was actually rather nice.

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That's how school was when I attended (graduated 1972). Girls had to take sewing in 7th grade, cooking in 8th grade. Boys had woodworking and machine shop. In high school girls could take home economics as a n elective. it was half sewing and half cooking. Boys had woodworking, machine shop, mechanical drawing and drafting to choose from. In high school there was a girl who wanted to be a commercial artist and was very talented. She had to petition the board of education to take drafting and mechanical drawing and was denied . Gymn classes were also separate for boys and girls. Back then (the so called good old days that weren't actually that good, LOL) the only competitive sport for girtls was tennis. We did have intramural basketball and volleyball played during lunch hour of homerooms playing one another.

Here is the article from the newspaper about the separate classes.

WEST SIDE MIDDLE SCHOOL WILL DIVIDE BOYS AND GIRLS FOR 4 SUBJECTS

Publication: CHARLESTON DAILY MAIL
Published: 08/19/2004
Page: 1A
Headline: WEST SIDE MIDDLE SCHOOL WILL DIVIDE BOYS AND GIRLS FOR 4 SUBJECTS
Byline: CHARLOTTE FERRELL SMITH


DAILY MAIL STAFF



Plans are in place at Stonewall Jackson Middle School for separate classes for boys and girls in math, science, English and social studies.


"Those are the classes No Child Left Behind focuses on for accountability," Principal Carol Thom said.


Research shows that separating students in this manner leads to higher test scores and fewer disciplinary problems, she said.


Stonewall, which has failed to meet the federal No Child Left Behind Act academic standards for two years, was among seven Kanawha County schools cited as in need of improvement in 2003. The school also has experienced several disciplinary incidents.


Thom has been working with Melanie Vickers, Kanawha County assistant superintendent, to initiate the same-sex classes for this school year. When teachers were consulted, they voted unanimously in favor of the classes.


Kanawha County students will start the school year Aug. 26.


School officials are modeling the initiative at Stonewall after Thurgood Marshall Middle, an urban Chicago school with 666 students. Enrollment at Stonewall this year is anticipated to be 668 and fairly equally split between boys and girls at each grade level.


"I talked to the principal at Thurgood Marshall, and our teachers talked to their teachers," Thom said. "Every teacher in the building wanted to do this. With that much support, I thought let's do it. It won't cost us any more to do this. Parents say it makes sense."


Some parents asked if different things would be taught at the West Side school. While curriculum will be the same, reading materials may be adjusted to fit the interests of the audience because boys and girls tend to enjoy different kinds of literature, Thom said.


While adults appear to be in unanimous support, that may not be so among adolescents.


"Initially, I think students will resist simply because it's something new and they would like to be with each other 24/7," she said. "With the hormones kicking in, that would be their greatest interest. Once they are over the hurdle and accept it, they will buy into it. That is my vision. Hopefully, I am not hallucinating."


Fewer discipline problems are anticipated because teens seem to be calmer if the boys and girls are not together, she said. She pointed out that the middle school years are when they are more focused on the opposite sex than academics.


"Last year, some eighth-graders couldn't keep their hands off each other," she said. "We separated them at lunch and discipline dropped significantly."


However, this school year boys and girls will be together for lunch as well as classes such as art, music and physical education.


"I don't want to make this a monastery," Thom said.


Vickers, the county's assistant superintendent for middle schools, said school officials at Thurgood Marshall said students there have said they feel free to speak up in same-sex classes because they are less self-conscious about impressing the opposite sex. However, they also liked knowing they could interact in the hallway.


"Thurgood Marshall found it successful academically and behaviorally for students in the classroom," Vickers said.


The main focus of the pilot program is to improve student achievement, Vickers said. If successful, the program may be initiated in other county schools, she said.


Contact writer Charlotte Ferrell Smith at [email protected] or 348-1246.



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"Last year, some eighth-graders couldn't keep their hands off each other," she said. "We separated them at lunch and discipline dropped significantly."

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That's funny! The discipline DROPPED and they like it! (I know they probably just wanted to say "discipline problems")

Dear me! The separated homemaking and shop classes really brings back the bad memories of the bad old days. I was always interested in math and science and was interested in maybe going into engineering. Back in those pre computer days, learning drafting was important. And they would not let me take it because it was a 'Boys' class.

Boys who did badly in algebra 1 were pushed to do it over. 2 guys I worked with failed 8th grade math and were pushed along. Both have doctorates in math at this time. A girl friend got C in 8th grade math and was tracked into general math. She was interested in chemistry but ended up a PhD in psychology, because she didn't have the math prerequisites when she hit college.

Most girls were pushed not to take algebra and pushed into business courses. When I had the extra time because I wouldn't take homemaking in high school, I took typing and shorthand being pushed into it by the guidance counselor who said even with high grades in math and science, female college graduates couldn't get hired without typing and shorthand. (As it turned out, it was great for the computer age, but who knew then?)

You wouldn't believe the number of boys from that era that married in large part because they hadn't the slightest idea how to cook, including a relative of mine after his divorce.

When my boys hit middle school, the boys and girls both took shop and homemaking, but not in the same class. As a result, my boys can cook and iron, and it's a good thing.

Oddly enough, sex education was coed and very very embarrassing. Go figure.

I think that having the sexes separate in the academic programs has the opportunity to lead right back to the bad old days of tracking women into teaching nursing and secretarial and nothing else. It all depends on how its run. I wouldn't trust this scenario with my grandkids. If I thought splitting the kids up would be good for my grand kids, I would send them to sex segregrated private schools that have high goals for their students. And I would make sure the boys learned how to cook, clean, iron and take care of themselves.

Here's a CNN 'article' on the theory of single sex classes.

http://www.cnn.com/2004/EDUCATION/08/25/single.sex.schools.ap/index.html

I don't think there should be single sex schools because there is an important social aspect during high school that everyone should experience. Liberal arts and electives should be co-ed.

However, I could see separating maths and sciences since these are sort of the 'imposing' classes. Stereotypically, maths and sciences are considered 'male' dominated classes. They also lend themselves better to the 'barking' method of teaching. Some girls will take a background position in these classes because they don't want to appeart too smart to the guys. I have to admit to missing a moment because I was trying to think of a tactful way to say something. I also think I 'got' concepts faster when I had female math teachers - with the exception of biology, I never had a female science teacher. The female math teachers just seemed to be more capable of breaking the concept down to the barest bones. I remember sitting in freshman geometry - small class of less than 10. Our regular teacher was out sick; so, the sophomore geometry teacher filled in. He derived the theorum for us and made drawings all over the board. None of us (guys and girls) understood. Bill & I each went home to our parents (I bring up Bill because he & I had the same exact schedule since we were the only 2 in advance math taking French - everyone else was taking Spanish) and didn't understand what our fathers were telling us either. Finally, Mrs. Hughes returned and we all asked her about last weeks lessons. She went to the board, drew a circle and a point, drew 2 different tangent lines from the point to 2 different points on the circle and told us that the 2 lines were the same length. Ta-da - light bulb on.

I could even see separating gym classes. I remember being kinda scared to play some of the games in gym class because the guys would yell - I didn't want to play softball; so, why are you yelling at me because I couldn't catch the ball. I'd much rather have taken dance or aerobics classes in middle/high school.