“It’s certainly the case that schools should help girls and boys to learn together, but does that necessarily require that every class be coed?” he said. “Well, maybe not. And I can give many examples of schools that have girls and boys working together on a wide range of activities, but in which some or occasionally most of the academic drill is single-sex.”
At Arthur F. Smith Middle Magnet School, Principal Norvella Williams said she faced some resistance from a few parents, who worried their children would lose in socialization skills. However, the cafeteria, schoolwide events, and some extracurricular activities remain coed.
“A lot of people are afraid of change, but if the change is going to be for the best, why not go for it?” she said.
While it’s too early into the year to measure academic gains, she and her staff report about half the discipline problems compared to the same time the previous year. That means the school is on the right track, Williams said.
Meanwhile, three seventh-grade students said they like learning in same-sex classrooms.
“I like it because you can be yourself. I feel closer to boys than I do girls … [and] sometimes boys try to impress them,” Danny Prenell said, prompting a nod from classmate Joshua Dorsey. Both 12-year-olds said they still get to talk to girls during recess.
In another classroom, 13-year-old Manahia Marzett said she wasn’t sure how the idea was going to work out, but now she’s getting used to it. “I am able to work better, instead of the boys talking about you and stuff like that,” she said.
Although Sax and Sadker disagree on the wisdom of single-sex education, both agree that educators must be aware of gender differences and stereotypes.
“If you ignore gender differences, they don’t go away. On the contrary, you end up reinforcing gender stereotypes,” Sax said.
“As soon as you make assumptions that all boys learn one way and all girls learn the other, you start building the ruts and reducing potential,” said Sadker.
Material from the Associated Press was used in this report.
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