Boys vs. girls

[aya1081]

Apparently schools in Greene County, Georgia are going to be segregating students by sex (warning: video news link) next fall, from kindergarten through high school. It is an interesting approach to try to improve their test scores (thanks No Child Left Behind!). Somehow I doubt this will make a significant difference, but the parents interviewed

Comments

[sneezypb]

A major reason for racial integration is administrators found it near impossible to prove "separate but equal" was really equal. One of the major African American complaints about integration was in many cases a superior Black school disappeared, Black teachers lost their jobs, and their kids ended up having to go to an inferior school. I think these administrators are going to have a challenge proving the separate situation is better for the sexes in separate schools. The reason for Title 1 for sports is the boys' sports got the lion's share of the resources. Some may consider it likely the same would happen with academics.

I drove through Greensboro once. It is hopeless. :)

[aya1081]

well, their basis is some sociological research that shows that boys and girls learn better in different types of environments. haven't read the research to know whether it is a load of crap or not. i agree that "separate but equal" is an oxymoron. i dunno, maybe i'm just apathetic, but i don't see gender segregation as the same harm as racial segregation. i do think that the idea of separating people means that they can't learn from each other. but maybe they aren't learning from each other now? i don't know. definitely not decided in my opinion though.

[nahuelito]

yeah, if I ever had girls I would maybe consider sending them to an all-girls school, but somehow it seems wrong for a public school to make that determination.

I think parental involvement and good nutrition probably play a larger role in learning than gender anyway.