Once upon a time when I went to grad school, I read research about educational trends, practices, and policies. One “hot topic” at the time was single-sex classrooms. Many places were trying having all-girl or all-boy core classes, and schools in Tuscaloosa County even tried it (Hillcrest or Central, I think).
I never really formed a personal opinion about single-sex classrooms. I could see the pros (fewer distractions, bonding opportunities, direction for text selection, giving boys a chance to excel in language arts and girls a chance to excel in math/science) and cons (Is this taking a step back on the women’s rights front? Are we doing the students a social disservice by not letting them intermingle? Will they suffer for not being exposed to the opposite sex’s thoughts and additions in the classroom?).
This semester, by freak accident, I have an Advanced 10th grade class of thirty students. Of the thirty, twenty-six are female, and four are male. I must admit that when I saw my roster, I was a little apprehensive. My first thought was This is going to be the chattiest class I’ve ever had. (I’m a little disappointed in myself for jumping to that stereotype.)
This class is pretty much single-sex education, and I will tell you that it is the best class I’ve had so far in teaching. We get things done in half the time, go far deeper into discussion, are able to have open-ended lessons and hands-on projects, etc. The girls in the class feel confident and comfortable stating their opinions and even having debates over issues. It is unreal; I always look forward to that part of my day.
One downside is that the boys, far outnumbered, are for all practical purposes silent during class. They hardly say, “Peep.” Are they intimidated by all the outspoken girls? (These are teen-aged boys we’re talking about.) Or, are they naturally quiet? I don’t know, since I didn’t know them before the class started.
Does this help form my opinion on single-sex classrooms? I guess not. But, it does give me a chance to see what a productive, deep-thinking group of students looks like.
What are your thoughts on single-sex classrooms?
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