I’m not sure how applicable this is to all countries, but if you had a choice would you send your children to single-sex or co-educational schools? Or a mixture at different levels?
I think I would choose a school with both. While I can understand how the opposite sex could be a distraction for some kids, they’ll be interacting with them out in the working world, so it would be beneficial to feel comfortable with both.
Co-ed. I also think kids need interaction with a diverse group of people. Also, the people I know who teach at all male schools tell me that the boys can become quite sexist, since they aren’t seeing girls outscore them in Calculus class. I have yet to see research that convinces me that single sex is better. Part of the problem is that most single gender schools in the US are religious, so it’s difficult to tease out the effects of single gender from the effects of religion.
The private school my children will go to only separates boys and girls during middle school years (7th and 8th grade). I think this is a good set up because it separates them during that most awkward time in their life. I honestly think this is due to the fact that they had an extra building, though, to be honest! So, they go to school together in elementary, separately for 2 years, and then back together for high school. I think this is a great setup.
I am a big believer in children interacting and learning around and from persons of all ages and of both genders (more like the real world), which is why we chose the school that we did. I can see the draw as they hit certain ages, but, in my mind the pros far outweight the cons.
I went to a co-ed secondary while my boyfriend went to a boys-only secondary and from what I hear there was much more larking around than in my school, and it wasn’t down to the teachers, just lads being laddish. Sure we had boys trying to impress the girls and vice versa, but I think the lessons you learn from being taught alongside members of the opposite gender are useful for your adult life, where you will have to work with men and women and learn not to be distracted by failed flirting attemps. Also it made it easier to get onto a school team in a co-ed, as there’s only half the school being of the right gender to play on the netball or cricket team, for example, whereas in my boyfriends’ school, though he was good at cricket he never made the school team because he had a potential 200 other boys to try and pick his way into the top 11 of, whereas in a coed that number is halved. Slightly trivial matter but if you’ve a very sporty kid a co-ed will give them more chance of making the school team.
There’s pretty much no way of getting a single sex education before the age of 11 without going private over here and beyond that I would give my child the choice of what school to go to for secondary, just as my parents gave me the option between the two. I would rather my child went to co-ed but ultimately it would be their choice where they would be happiest for the next five or seven years of their life. All the single sex schools in my area admit the other gender for sixth form anyway so even in an all boys or girls school there would still be some interaction with the opposite sex. Plus if my child did go to a single sex I would try to make sure they interacted with the other gender as much as possible in the form of after school activities etc.
Co-[name]Ed[/name] for sure. I went to a mixed Catholic school (quite the norm where I live) and I loved it. A friend of mine teaches in a high school, and she prefers teaching in Co-[name]Ed[/name] ones. Her reasoning is that the boys tone down the cattyness in the girls, and the girls can have a calming effect on the boys.
I had a great experience in a co-ed school so its definitely an option for when I have children.
I went to a single-sex high school, and I absolutely would not recommend it. It was a good school and I didn’t have any lifelong trauma or anything from it being single-sex, but I don’t think that it’s the best environment either. It was more or less like a regular high school of the same size, so I’m not really sure what benefits it gave me. There were still fights over boys and drama about prom, the boys just weren’t physically at the school. The real world is not single-sex and I think the idea of a single-sex school is a bit outdated. I think separating kids based on gender tells them that there is an insurmountable difference between genders and that they learn better without the other, which is just not true. Everyone benefits from being around all different types of people.
A previous poster mentioned that most single-sex schools are religious, and mine was. I also do not believe in religious education mixed in with academic education as a result of my experiences. It should be at home or in a [name]Sunday[/name] school/after school setting. By the time I was about 14, I had decided that my parent’s religion was not something I wanted to be a part of, yet my school continued to preach to me and forced me to take part in rituals I didn’t believe in. Children should have the ability to choose their own religion as they grow up. It shouldn’t be their parent’s or anyone else’s decision.
I went to a mixed public school in a tough area of my city until junior high. Then I got quite the culture shock when I was sent to a strict girls Catholic school far away from home in a more upper class area for which I had to take four buses. While I wouldn’t recommend such an extreme change, I have to admit that the all-girls format worked for me. I was able to focus without the distraction of boys during my teenage years. Based on my experience, I think co-ed is fine in the younger grades but later on perhaps a single gender education would be beneficial. That way a child can have a taste of both systems. Of course, if you see that you’re child is thriving under the co-ed system then perhaps continue on this course. There have been numerous studies regarding the pros and cons and I think it would be wise to cruise the Internet and read up on some. I found the one below which lists the benefits of a single-sex school. Where I live, there is an African-centric school for all-black students and there was talk of an all-gay school being founded.
In 2008, the US government sponsored another study, Early Implementation of Public Single-Sex Schools: Perceptions and Characteristics, which listed the benefits of single-sex schools : (1) Decreases distractions in learning, (2) Reduces student behavior problems, (3) Provides more leadership opportunities, (4) Promotes a sense of community among students and staff, (5) Improves student self-esteem, (6) Addresses unique learning styles and interests of boys or girls, (7) Decreases sex bias in teacher-student interactions, (8) Improves student achievement, (9) Decreases the academic problems of low achieving students, (10) Reduces sexual harassment among students, (11) Provides more positive student role models, (12) Allows for more opportunities to provide social and moral guidance, (13) Provides choice in public education.