We had an interesting mini-discussion in the Advanced I class about Friday’s Freewriting topic. I think The ELC Writer’s Blog is a good forum to discuss this topic further. The question was:
Q: Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? Boys and girls should attend separate schools. Use specific reasons and examples to support your answer.
First and foremost, this is a great topic because it looks at our individual feelings about male and female education and whether it should be coeducational (co-ed) or not. I’ve research this topic before and, although, I don’t see a real need to create separate institutions of learning for men and women, I understand both sides of the argument. I found this info from the article interesting:
“Reports such as the American Association of University Women’s 1992 “How Schools Shortchange Girls” and David and Myra Sadker’s “Failing at Fairness,” conclude that girls are not as well served by the coeducational learning environment as boys are. They receive less teacher attention and find fewer reflections of themselves in the curriculum; their unique learning styles and ways of knowing are often ignored. At all-girls schools, girls have 100% of the teacher’s attention in the classroom. Unrestricted by the pressures of a coeducational environment, they find it safe to develop their own voices. Girls in single-sex schools speak up, unafraid to challenge themselves and others to think. They do so from a secure environment that builds upon the strengths, learning styles, sensitivities, and values of girls.”
(Taken from: http://www.albalagh.net/kids/taking_stand/girls_schools.shtml)
The authors are proponents, I believe, of separate education for young men and women. Notice that I said ‘separate education’ and not ‘all-girls (or all-boys) schools’. Also noticed that I said ‘young men and women’ and not boys and girls. I believe young men and women, junior and senior high school aged, will benefit the most from having separate classes. Young people, however, should not spend the whole day separate from each other. Developing a rapport with the opposite sex is so much more important to their life education than their schooling will ever be. In my opinion, this sort of co-ed education is analogous to ELC students, men and women from a variety of countries, studying English together.
An interested excerpt was from the same resource read: “Separate education also helps girls concentrate on their fields, such as cooking, sewing, budget management etc. so they could be good daughters, sister, wives, and mothers.”
My upbringing precludes me from agreeing with home economics (this was a class that taught cooking, cleaning, sewing, ironing, etc. when I was a young man growing up in public schools). My mother always taught me how to do these things because, in her words, “don’t leave home then look for another mother to take care of you. You have to be able to take care of yourself”. I don’t personally believe that these are ‘fields that girls should concentrate on’. Is that my mother in me or the American in me?
I purposely choose this website entitled “Need for Islamic Girls Schools” because it had the info that I was looking for plus it included some info on how men and women are educated in Muslim countries.
I always look to my student to educate me, as well, so please feel free to read this short article and comment freely.
As I write on freepaper, I disagree that boys and girls should attend separate school. As boys and girls grow up, they should know and respect each other.
If they go to separate schools, they will have less opportunity to know the other sex. Even though girls have different learning style and they have less teacher attention, they will learn more important things like how men act, think, behave or talk at unseparate school than separate school.
In this world, there are only men and women. Therefore, they have to get along each other. To do so, they should spend time together and again, they have to know and respect each other. Men and women are so different. That’s why they can support our drawback each other.
Hi everyone.
I support seperate education for a while,in the high school!!! I did not go to seperate schools in my education life but i know the problems about that.How?Let me explain this.
First,i do not think that noone can say we do not have problems about our young and next generation.Where ever you look in the world,you will see these problems at societies.Pay attention,i am talking about us.There is my opinion below…
Ages 0-14 are playing games,running and entertaining ages for girls and boys.And these activities are mostly being done together.Everybody is young not adult,so no problem…Seperate education is not necessary.
When you enter to your favorite age,18,mostly you are trying to enter to the university,at least most of young people are doing this.And you are taking more responsibility in your school or in your family.You CAN decide what you are doing in right way.However,you can see students using drugs,drinking much.But these decisions are being effected by your background,commonly by high school years.Seperate education at university,of course not…
The biggest problem around male and female students is either being disrespectful to other sex or having too much information about other sexuality.I think you can understand what i said here in the previous sentence.This is not only a danger for family but also a danger for next generations.If you can not control yourself,biggest harms will be seen at societies.And you can see what i am saying to you nowadays.In every where.One reason is high school years,other one is family factors.As you know boys and girls are MORE interested in each other when they reach to the 16s and 18s.And this is the critical age to decide carefully what you are going to do in the future.
Consequently;students suppose to study lessons.Having opportunity on the other sex is not necessary knowledge.I mean,it has no effect for success,but we should get this to understand the world of girlsso i can not refuse this idea.
Hey everyone,,
I think there is no drawback as ayumi wrote above
i want 2 ask some question that can help, for everyone why we have rest room for female? why they have long hair? why the women can bring baby for 9 months?
i strongly disagree to attend boys and girls the same school
not because I’m Muslim but also for the question above,
I’m with ” FOR ” Boys & Girls being in the same School:
As for social life, it’s true that there are far fewer wild on-campus parties than at coed schools, but that’s also a very limiting definition of social life. Time spent not studying is spent going to concerts and comedy shows, watching movies or television, going out to eat or shop, or having smaller parties with your friends. I’ve heard that type of social life called “stifling” by some and “much more meaningful and fun than getting drunk with hundreds of total strangers” by many. In other words, the material differences between single-sex and coeducational schools are, like the environment they produce, perfect for some but not for all, and that group has a right to realize its preferences.
Thanks!
I don’t think girls/boys separation in highschool is a good idea.
The Chinese character of ‘human’ is formed with two lines, and each means one person. The character involves that human should be with others.
Symmetry with others is necessary for completion of human being, and of course, also important for students.
Students can learn how to be with others in school. Since the half of the world population is men and the other is women, isn’t it important to be with opposite sex in teenages?
Soonyoung
I absolutely disagree that boys and girls attend same school, because our life will be more comfortable if we [study in a] separate school. If schools are separate, the students will get all their rights especially males students, because all students will get equal attention.
I think I can compare these two situations because I studied at both of them and I found the difference.
Muath