I choose to rise this topic without really having a clear opinion on it (I do not really care and think it should be up to student and parent to choose), but I find it to be a very interesting question on which people will certainly have a lot to say. Thus, I am more interested in reading your views than sharing my own, although I will try to participate in the discussion myself too. An discussion as open as possible is what we strive for, but here are a few questions to serve as compass: - Do you think segregating classes by gender would benefit results? Why/why not? - Is having "gender mixed" classes harmful in any way? How? - Is having "gender mixed" classes really "necessary" from any point of view?
No ... As a product of Philadelphia's Catholic schools, where I spent four of my introverted "formative years" in an all-boys high school, I found myself way behind the curve whenever it came to trying to relate to and develop .... uh ... "relationships" with the opposite sex. This was especially a very, very tough adjustment once I went to college. Not saying everyone's in the same boat as I, just that if you tend to be shy or introverted, segregated schooling doesn't help your social skills development.
Feel the urge to be devil's advocate and point out that the purpose of education is not to get laid. Furthermore, I have always been introverted and shy and therefore did not interact much with girls in school, so "gender mixing" does not necessarily result in "dating experience" or "social training" either.
What ever the parents want should be primo. It's their duty to see that their children are educated. If there's support for gender apartheid in schools then the government should have to provide it. Did you know under Islamic law the sexes aren't allowed to mix in schools or anywhere else outside of family or marriage?
Are they allowed to blare out the call to prayer 5 times a day where you live? Hope not! I live in small town USA I don't think we'll have any mosques here in my lifetime.
Luckily, Sweden has not fallen that far...Yet. However, there is a mosque in pretty much every city and where I live, the Muslims want to build a second one too.
I went to an all guys boarding school for high school and I can tell you one thing, I was awkward when I first went to college. Took me a few months to get on my feet, socially. Gender mixed classes are great because you get used to interacting with the opposite gender.
I've went to gender mixed classes since I was one and half (life-time public schooled, f*ck me, right?), all the way from kindergarden to high school. I can tell you that, everywhere boys grouped with boys and girls grouped with girls anyways. Apart from in the classrooms, there was not really much mixing or interaction between the genders.,
My elementary and middle school differed. We had our guy friends, but with classes and activities, we were constantly interacting with girls
What K-12 schools should do is segregate classes by scholarship and behavior. Dumb and disruptive students do not belong in the same environment with better students. They should be placed in separate classrooms. For instance, if there are 100 students in say the 4th grade, 1/3 of the poorest learners, those with ADD, poor English speakers, and those with poor attitudes should be placed in their own classroom. This way, they will only disrupt the studies of those at the bottom. The middle 1/3 are for more average students, they can be taught at a more normal level. The top 1/3 classroom should be set aside for the best students. Those are the ones most worth expending time and energy on. They can better handle advanced studies, as they are most likely be heading to college. Another great idea for American schools is to teach Vocational skills like welding, car repair and carpentry---as college is certainly not for everyone. Certainly not for the bottom level of students.
When you're stuck in a boarding school for 4 years with all dudes, then go to college with chicks, your humor tends to be a little rough on the females. You don't even realize it at first until someone is like "dude, why'd you tell that fart joke to Rachel. She was vibing you and you blew it"
But, eventually, you figured it all out by yourself, right? In what, two weeks? I am not taking sides here, I think everyone should be free to pick what sort of school they themselves prefer, but I do not really see how the "it teaches boys how to interact with girls" has any validity. I went to gender mixed classes from kindergarden all the way up to uni, and I am still sort of clueless when it comes to women.
It certainly does have validity. The average person who didn't attend a same-gender school never understand the transition.
The possibility - remote though it was back then - of "getting laid" was only an impish reference. But I maintain that the socializing aspect of other gender interactions were not helped in any way when missing out on those daily interactions, especially when expectations are that one would be developing such social skills.
After I played 12 years of football at schools, I decided that I preferred being in the cheer squad, it was populated by females...I still managed to pull myself through school knowing no guy would ever cup his hands on my scrotum for sport..
There have been studies on the subject and the evidence seems to indicate that both genders benefit educationally from segregated environments starting around age 12 (seventh grade). The reasons for this would seem evident and it has to everything to do with sex. The act, not the gender. At around age 12 most kids will begin to enter puberty and the other sex begins to mean much more than moving the outfield in during kickball. For both sexes life becomes a constant with becoming popular with the right kids of the opposite sex. If you have a kid over 12 you know exactly what I mean. Studies indicate removing that dynamic from the educational environment enhances learning for both groups. So, yes. I think segregating by sex from grades 7-12 would result in enhancing academic achievement across the board as long as we act affirmatively to ensure equality across both environments. This does, of course, extend to having male/female teachers in the respective environments.