Public districts experiment with separating students by gender

[AmericanMe]

http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=745288


Reduce it to a yes or no answer - was it a good idea for you to be in a class that was all girls this year? Who says yes?

Twenty-six hands shoot into the air. A 27th joins with hesitation.
And that is every student present in this eighth-grade classroom at the Milwaukee Education Center, known as MEC, a Milwaukee Public Schools middle school in an old Schlitz Brewery building north of downtown.

Note the word public in the previous sentence.

[Lady Shalymar]

I've heard of schools doing this. I think it's an interesting idea. Let them socialize together on breaks but seperate them for classes. Removes the distraction of the opposite sex while they're trying to learn. I'd send my kids to a school like that.

[Sacredsin]

Not all kids are heterosexual....

[Brightshores]

Actually, it doesn't have anything to do with distractions due to sexual interests. There's been quite a bit of research that indicates that boys and girls learn in different ways. Boys tend to learn better with more active, hands-on learning, with lots of noise and physical experimentation. Girls tend to learn better in the the traditional teacher-led, book-focused sort of way. The theory is that by separating the genders, teachers can better tailor their instruction style to the class, and both boys and girls end up learning more effectively.

Now all of these things are generalizations, but some of the educational research has borne this out.

Personally, I think it might be useful, but I don't support its exclusive use throughout a student's educational career. Realistically speaking, the world is made up of both men and women, and it's important to learn how to interact in a professional manner with members of both genders.

[Shawn Blackwolf]

I never was like "boys"...

None of those descriptions fit me at all...and I am not
a "tool guy , sports guy , car guy , guy - guy" , at all...

And I am hetero - sexual...just for the record...

I always hated hanging out with "guys"...never went
out with them...guys night out ? NO THANKS...

So...as a student...I learned in quiet...in my room , or
nature...I was more intuitive , sensitive...still am...
( some would say overly so )...

If I had been forced into a situation like that...there would
have been a school shooting , or bombing...

Straight up...:thumbsup:

[RoseKitten]

Actually, it doesn't have anything to do with distractions due to sexual interests. There's been quite a bit of research that indicates that boys and girls learn in different ways. Boys tend to learn better with more active, hands-on learning, with lots of noise and physical experimentation. Girls tend to learn better in the the traditional teacher-led, book-focused sort of way. The theory is that by separating the genders, teachers can better tailor their instruction style to the class, and both boys and girls end up learning more effectively.

Now all of these things are generalizations, but some of the educational research has borne this out.

Personally, I think it might be useful, but I don't support its exclusive use throughout a student's educational career. Realistically speaking, the world is made up of both men and women, and it's important to learn how to interact in a professional manner with members of both genders.

However, in the cases that don't match the traditional standard, would kids have the option of switching classes? I learn a lot better hands on, books bore me to tears. If I'd had to go through all of my schooling like that, I probably would have failed out entirely. /shrug

I think it's a good idea in theory, but it has to be flexible enough for students who need the change.

[Shawn Blackwolf]

I would not go through any schooling like that...

That is blatantly wrong...whether in the past , present ,
or future...and I would support any child refusing to go ,
if that were the case...

If I were younger , and that was instituted , in all schools...

I would help kids , start a runaway "underground railroad"...

Viva Revolution !

[Djiril]

Actually, it doesn't have anything to do with distractions due to sexual interests. There's been quite a bit of research that indicates that boys and girls learn in different ways. Boys tend to learn better with more active, hands-on learning, with lots of noise and physical experimentation. Girls tend to learn better in the the traditional teacher-led, book-focused sort of way. The theory is that by separating the genders, teachers can better tailor their instruction style to the class, and both boys and girls end up learning more effectively.
I am very skeptical about that claim. People are always coming out with these weird studies claiming that everything society says about gender is true, and often the methodology is bad, the sample group is small and not especially representative, the conclusions are not well supported by the findings and to top it all off, the media takes one aspect of the findings and blows it waaay out of proportion.

Personally, I can't imagine learning better from books than from doing. I have just started a poll (http://mysticwicks.com/showthread.php?t=189729) to see what other MWers have to say. It's at least as scientific as some of the studies out there. I know the poll doesn't ask for gender, but hopefully people will respond with posts as well.

[Amanda Mitchell]

Very interesting...