Won't somebody think of the children?
Pauline Vu, reporting for Stateline.org, says that the number of public single-sex schools has risen from 5 to 241 in the past decade. Leonard Sax, director of the National Association for Single Sex Public Education and author of Why Gender Matters claims that girls and boys have different learning styles and that these differences can be used to enhance education in single-sex environments. Groups like the ACLU and National Organization for Women plan to continue to oppose the gender segregation in schools. "Girls Just Want to Have Sums", a 2006 episode of the Simpsons, portrays how these groups seem to envision single-sex classrooms. Joe Cook, Lousiana director of the ACLU describes them as having girls "count[ing] flower petals" instead of being taught real mathematics.
Interestingly, although this is presented as a feminist issue, research has typically focused on the benefits to women of single-sex education. A review by Mael (1998) found little evidence of benefit for boys. Spielhofer et al (2004) found that single-sex classes in Britain seemed to benefit either girls or boys, depending on the type of school. Girls in comprehensive same-sex programs did better than girls in coed schools with similar curriculum, and boys seemed to benefit from the single-sex environment when in a selective program. The single-sex education also seemed to help girls move outside gender-stereotyped subjects. However, Vu's article described many American schools as using single-sex education as a way to help close the gap between girls and boys, because boys were faliing behind in academic scores.
Personally, I've had no luck finding a pattern to the ways I learn. It seems like some things I learn better by failing and repeating, and other things I learn better by watching, while sometimes I need to understand the mechanisms that make them function before I can really begin. In my experience in classrooms, information is usually presented multiple times, and in a few different ways, as the teacher tries to get understanding in the broadest section of the class. Sometimes I get it on the first run through, sometimes it's another method that "clicks" for me. I'm glad I have had the opportunity to get the different ways of looking at the same information. It helps me think about it, and also helps me pass that information on to other people. It doesn't seem important for people to understand how they know what they know until you try and get them to explain it to you. There's nothing more frustrating than trying to learn a skill from someone who does it naturally.
Interestingly, although this is presented as a feminist issue, research has typically focused on the benefits to women of single-sex education. A review by Mael (1998) found little evidence of benefit for boys. Spielhofer et al (2004) found that single-sex classes in Britain seemed to benefit either girls or boys, depending on the type of school. Girls in comprehensive same-sex programs did better than girls in coed schools with similar curriculum, and boys seemed to benefit from the single-sex environment when in a selective program. The single-sex education also seemed to help girls move outside gender-stereotyped subjects. However, Vu's article described many American schools as using single-sex education as a way to help close the gap between girls and boys, because boys were faliing behind in academic scores.
Personally, I've had no luck finding a pattern to the ways I learn. It seems like some things I learn better by failing and repeating, and other things I learn better by watching, while sometimes I need to understand the mechanisms that make them function before I can really begin. In my experience in classrooms, information is usually presented multiple times, and in a few different ways, as the teacher tries to get understanding in the broadest section of the class. Sometimes I get it on the first run through, sometimes it's another method that "clicks" for me. I'm glad I have had the opportunity to get the different ways of looking at the same information. It helps me think about it, and also helps me pass that information on to other people. It doesn't seem important for people to understand how they know what they know until you try and get them to explain it to you. There's nothing more frustrating than trying to learn a skill from someone who does it naturally.