Single-sex schooling is nothing new and it was once the norm for boys and girls to be educated in separate classrooms. Many private schools still admit only either boys or girls but are single sex lessons a good idea?
Yes – Victoria
Studies have shown that boys and girls have very different learning styles and therefore achieve better results when they are taught separately. Boys tend to learn best if they can see physical demonstrations or graphics about the subject whereas girls learn best by discussing a subject. It makes sense then to teach them separately so that teachers can tailor the lesson to the relevant learning style. Even small practical details can make a difference – for example, boys learn better in a room that’s slightly cooler whereas girls prefer a warm environment. It’s much easier to cater to the needs of everybody if girls and boys are taught separately.
I think it becomes even more important to have single sex lessons as children reach their teenage years. Flirting, bickering, jealousy; these things all arise when you put boys and girls together and produce a real distraction. Children will be thinking about impressing each other, rather than concentrating on their lessons. I also find that children make better friendships when they are in single-sex groups as girls are less catty when boys aren’t around and boys don’t feel the need to show off as much without girls to impress.
There’s plenty of time outside of school for girls and boys to mix, so lessons should be tailored to learning effectively. After all, our children’s educations are so important that we should do all we can to make teaching successful.
No – Jude
A good, rounded education is about more than just learning academically. Kids also need to learn how to manage social situations, and understand the complexities of different relationships. If we separate boys and girls, they will miss out on a big chunk of what school life is all about.
I went to an all-girls school and as a result found it quite hard to have friendships with men later in life. I didn’t know how to talk to them and thought that any man who spoke to me was trying to chat me up, even if they were just being polite. Children will have to mix with the opposite sex when they grow up so it’s best to teach them how to do this from within the safety of the classroom, rather than letting them flounder later in life.
It’s all very well to say that boys and girls have different learning styles but teachers generally aren’t trained to teach boys and girls differently so even if it is true, it doesn’t really make much difference. Also, I think telling teachers to adapt their teaching based on gender could be quite dangerous as there is a risk that they will stereotype and children won’t get all the opportunities that they otherwise might.
I think children should be encouraged to appreciate different opinions. If boys and girls do take a different approach to learning based on their gender then that provides a great opportunity for them to gain new insights by seeing topics from a new perspective.
