by Angela S. Young

Created on: June 05, 2007   Last Updated: January 12, 2012

Do children learn better in single-sex schools? Absolutely. Besides the fact that research supports this idea, as a teacher I know the problems inherent in mixing genders in the school.

1. Males usually grab more attention. Teachers don't mean to, but studies show they do it even when they are trying not to. One reason for this is that boys tend to be the 'squeaky wheel' in the classroom. They are more often in trouble, they ask more questions, they don't wait patiently, ....

2. Males and females respond differently to learning. Teaching boys and teaching girls is very different. You can do things with a classroom of girls you couldn't do with a classroom of boys and visa versa. Because of this, the teacher is divided, having to provide learning for both groups.

3. Once girls realize boys are not yucky (and even before) they start to pay too much attention to what 'he' will think of them. This causes distraction in the classroom. With boys, they like to show off for the girls, so they are also distracted.

4. Boys try to get out of work and girls enable them. This is a general statement, of course it is not true about everyone, but I have seen it often in the classroom. Girls tend to be natural helpers, and many boys are more than willing to let them. I have seen more girls than I care to doing a boy's homework for him, helping him cheat, taking on the majority of a project while he goofs off. Why do they do it? I don't know, but take my word for it: it does happen.

There are more reasons why a same-gender school makes more sense, but these are a start. I speak from experience. Separating the sexes causes less distraction from actual learning, and allows each gender to learn in their own specific way with their own needs met. I doubt if we jump to same-gender schools in the near future, but it is definitely something we should consider.

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