New federal guidelines have made it easier for schools to offer a same gender program. What are the results?

Barbara Pytel / Educationalissues 12, 05, 2006

Becoming Popular

Single-sex classes and schools are becoming more and more popular across the United States. Why?

·         Single-sex classes boost test scores.

·         Single-sex classes boost self-esteem.

Those are two very good reasons to try the "separate but equal" classroom methods.

Carla Rivera of the L.A. Times writes that in 1995, only three public schools in the nation offered the single-sex classroom option. Today, the National Association for Single Sex Public Education boasts of 253 schools available.

Research has shown for a long time that girls are not assertive about their education if boys are in the classroom. Girls also receive less attention from teachers. Studies have shown that teachers wait longer for boys to give an answer than girls.

U.S. Dept. of Education Gives OK

A recent roling by the Department of Education clears the way for public schools to offer single-sex curriculums. In the past, these classroom settings were banned and the ACLU even prevented single-sex classrooms from being offered.

Criteria

With the approval come some restrictions. The classes

·         must be geared toward improving achievement

·         must meet the needs of students

·         must treat male and female students equally

·         must be enrolled on a volunteer basis

School Choice

This is great news for promoters of all school choice . Many feel that more choices in education improves the system. No Child Left Behind endorses same-sex classrooms.

They Are Just Plain Different

Anyone that is involved with young children understands that boys and girls are very different. Rivera writes that girls have unique characteristics:

·         comfortable asking questions in class

·         respond to shopping questions

·         thrive in a relaxed environment

·         work in pairs or alone

Boys, on the other hand,

·         do better in competitive environments

·         enjoy action-based lessons

·         enjoy time-oriented tasks

·         prefer to wait with asking questions to avoiding looking less smart

·         respond to sports questions

Skeptics

Of course, for every new idea in education there are those that are skeptical that anything other than the status quo can be successful. Before we condemn a new idea, let's sit back and see how this plays out.

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