Education Week: Why Science Doesn’t Support Single-Sex Classes
How superb! Lovely rebuttal of the single-sexers. Actually, I’ve enjoyed teaching in single-sex schools, but we should be honest about our motives. Gendering promotes Rugby and nice little girls; it soothes the fears of parents who are paranoid with the memory of what they got up to at sixteen. It perpetuates negative stereotypes about the moral development of the child.
I would happily lead a single sex school again, but I’ve also see the dark side – poor socialization especially of boys, categorization and lack of appropriate differentiation. My job is to make sure every student gets the education they need and deserve – dividing the genders doesn’t make it any easier and may distract from the challenge.
