By: Venice Winchester

INTRODUCTION
All children are capable of learning. Sometimes it just takes the parent being pro-active and choosing a good learning environment for their child. Parents have to make a decision whether or not the school will offer their child high educational standards, will it offer an enriched academic experience, and does the school have a reputation for academic excellence? Then comes the question whether or not their child will thrive in an all girls and all boys class setting or a coeducational setting?

SINGLE SEX EDUCATION:

Single sex education is where males or females attend a school exclusively for individuals of the same sex.

CO-EDUCATIONAL EDUCATION:
Coeducational is where males and females are mixed together in school, and theres no separation.

WHATS THAT THEY SAY?...

1. Some parents don't want their children to be in mixed-gender classrooms because, especially at certain ages, students of the opposite sex can be a distraction.

AND THEY SAY

Girls risk being failed in mixed classrooms Boys are, on the whole, naughty and a bit dim. Co-ed schools/sixth forms use girls to bump up their league table positions and civilise the boys Thered differences in how boys and girls learn (Strauss, Valerie)
All other quotes came from (Goodhew, David) article

According to an article from NY Times a report from The Pseudoscience of Singke Sex Schooling says sex-segregated education is deeply misguided and often justified by weak, cherrypicked or misconstrued scientific claims rather than by valid scientific evidence. This is to be understood being that to back up any claim you need supportive and valid research and evidence. It then goes on to state It reduces boys and girls opportunities to work together, and reinforces sex stereotypes. (Lewin, Tamar) I can agree with this because being in a boys and girls environment allows them to form relationships with the opposite sex. If not, in the future they will probably have a hard time cooperating with the opposite sex.

SINGLE SEX EDUCATION: THE NEW SEGREGATION?

According to this article, Leonard Sax, a family physician and author says Single sex classrooms should always be an option and never mandatory. I can agree with his statement. . You should have the option of whether or not the school will offer high educational standards. And the question of whether or not youll be able to thrive in an all girls or all boys classroom. Leonard then goes on to say girls and boys have different needs in the classroom. He states, boys learn more effectively when theyre allowed to get up and move. That they have to jump up to answer a question, rather than raising a hand. On the other hand girls learn better when theyre allowed to make connections. Theyd rather get together and compare notes, rather than competing in the classroom.(Wood, Danielle) I can almost agree with this statement because guys can be a little extra in the classroom at times. Seems to me they do it for attention. While females are more chill.

GENDER AND EDUCATION

This article examines young people's views about sex education and focuses specifically on their views about interaction in single sex and coed classrooms. A survey done on 3355 young people (aged 15/16 years), carried out in 13 co-educational English secondary schools showed that the majority of girls, and about one-third of boys, would like some or all of their sex education to be delivered in single-sex groups. Data from 15 focus groups were analyzed to examine the reasons for these preferences. The way lessons are gendered was explored by examining young people's views about the ways in which particular aspects of sex education classes for example the characteristics of teachers, the content, teaching methods and age of students influenced their responses and interaction in lessons. (Strange, Vicki, and Ann Oakley) From this article, I was liking the route that they were taking to collect their data. And how it was rendered more towards young peoples view on the issue.

HOW GIRLS SEE IT HOW BOYS PERCEIVE IT

RAISED QUESTIONS:
1. Does single-gender schools raise self-esteem and improve aptitude? 2. Do students of only one sex to a classroom have a better learning environment by eliminating social pressures that can affect academic performance?

3. Do guys and girls brain function differently?

4. Will students perform higher at a single sexed school as opposed to coed?

WORK SITE:

Lewin, Tamar. "Single-Sex Education Is Assailed in Report." The New York Times 22 Sept. 2011: A19. Print. Goodhew, David. "Tired Arguments against Co-education Involve Breathtaking Gender Stereotypes." The Telegraph. N.p., 15 Oct. 2013. Web. 15 Oct. 2013. Strange, Vicki, and Ann Oakley. "Mixed Sex or Single Sex Education: How Would Young People like Their Sex Education and Why." Gender and Education 15.2 (2003): 201-15. Print.

Strauss, Valerie. "The Case against Single-sex Schooling." The Washington Post (2012): n. pag. Web. 15 Oct. 2013.
Wood, Danielle. "Single Sex Education: The New Segregation?" Education 10 May 2010: n. pag. Web. 15 Oct. 2013.