Jared Oruch

Mrs. Fielding

WRTC 103

10-4-17

Gender V. Schools

When it comes to schooling, everyone understands how truly important education is.

Knowing this, it is just as important to get the best education possible. So, what is the best way to

learn for each gender together, or separated? The article Single-Sex Education: Would teaching

boys and girls separately improve academic performance, covers whats the best option for

education. The audience of this article are parents, teachers, and students. The main goal of this

article is to see if they can teach better in single sex classrooms. The author is trying show the

audience pros and cons of single sex schooling and coed schools. He goes into the pros and cons

of single sex schools compared to coed schools in great detail.

There are numerous pros to having single sex schools versus having coed schools. Single

sex schools help to eliminate gender stereotypes that keep students from doing well in certain

subjects. They are also very well educated because there are few distractions for students. There

have been studies done that show scores of tests between single sex schools and coed schools to

see which could score higher. Advocates of single-sex education also point to a 2007 study at

Stetson University in Deland, Fla., which randomly assigned fourth grade students to single sex

or coed classes at a local elementary school. The study found that 75% of girls and 86% of boys

in the single-sex classes passed a state writing test, compared with 57% of girls and 37% of boys

in the coed classes. (P. 20). The pro of going to a single sex school is in this case is that you

have a higher chance of doing well on tests. Single sex schools have fewer distractions in class,
which also boosts test scores. These single-sex schools remove some of the problems that

arise when boys and girls are in the same classroom, supporters maintain. Students might

be less likely to speak freely if they are worried about teasing from the opposite gender, they

say. Romantic attraction to members of the opposite sex can also be a distraction. (P. 19).

By removing all distractions associated with being around a different sex, it creates more time to

learn. Without the opposite gender in the class, students are more likely to answer questions in

class and not feel insecure about being judged. Single sex schooling also allows teachers to tailor

their lessons to students of each gender.

Looking at the counterclaim of this argument; When girls and boys learn separately, their

education is more likely to be unequal. Both genders should have the chance to interact with

each other. If a district offered a single-sex school for one gender, it had to offer a comparable

single-sex school for the opposite gender as well. In general, however, the mood among both the

public and the educational community following the passage of Title IX strongly favored

coeducation. (P. 9). More people are in favor of coeducation than single sex schooling. They

think that each sex should be learning at the same pace rather than being split up. Coed schools

are also known to diminish gender stereotypes and to teach the children about the harmful effects

that these stereotypes bring. These critics say that educating students separately reinforces

gender stereotypes rather than eliminating them. The educational methods called for by single-

sex advocates increase the likelihood that girls will learn a watered-down version of math and

science, while boys will be taught reading and writing inadequately, they charge. That deprives

students of a well-rounded education. (P. 24). Most critics think that just because single sex

schools have one gender, it means that their education will be subpar compared to coed schools.

Being in a coed school, stereotypes will not play as big of a role towards their students grades.

Coed will help them overcome stereotype awareness about the opposite gender.
 The author of the article, Single-Sex Education: Would teaching boys and girls

separately improve academic performance, is effective because he uses credible sources and

counter arguments to prove his point of which type of schooling is better. The author refers to

ethos to show credible statistics of scores between single sex schools and coed schools are

different. He could have put more pathos into this article to appeal more to emotions that people

have toward school. This issue of which type of schooling is better for the kids is always going

to be a timely issue because everyone wants to get the best education they can. This article

fulfills on the pros and cons of single sex schools and coed schools. It will relevant because there

are genders all around you in education and the best way to educate each sex is important to look

at. Education is a big part of setting up your life and looking for different ways to educate each

sex the most efficient is crucial.

Work Cited:
"Single-Sex Education: Would teaching boys and girls separately improve academic
performance?" Issues & Controversies, Infobase Learning, 6 June
2008,http://icof.infobaselearning.com/recordurl.aspx?ID=2001. Accessed 4 Oct. 2017.