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The Forum > Article Comments > Single-sex is best (sometimes) > Comments

Single-sex is best (sometimes) : Comments

By Peter West, published 15/11/2006

Educating children: single-sex v co-ed; social v academic education?

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I recall some Irish research which found that boys did better in co-ed schools, girls in single-sex schools - hard to resolve!

I think it's horses for courses, the main thing is to suit the school to the child rather than be dogmatic. Financially, my kids could go to private schools only if they got scholarships. All the research and advice we had re our eldest (male) suggested Brisbane Grammar School as best; he got a full scholarship, enjoyed it for 3.5 years but fell foul of the parochial side of the institution thereafter. He now has a first-class science degree and is flying in graduate medicine. On the same basis, my elder daughter went to Somerville House, it was great for her, some wonderful teachers, she's now got an excellent job as an engineer.

Those two were 23 months apart, and the house was filled with their friends - no problems re social interaction. However, there was a gap of almost four years to our third daughter, and socialisation became an issue. She was also offered a scholarship to Somerville, but went to Brisbane State High (our second choice for the others) - partly because of the co-ed aspects, partly because we thought it would suit her personality better. More left ideology/political correctness in the school, but she's also a high-flyer, heading for a double-first in Science/Arts, studying at UBC Vancouver next year.

We were lucky to have alternatives. but the main thing is to find out enough about potential schools to ensure that they are right for your child, whether single-sex or co-ed.
Posted by Faustino, Wednesday, 15 November 2006 11:10:37 AM
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It would be absolutely imperative that parents shop around and ask many questions before they enroll their son in any school.

The following are some recent results from a high school of 1500 students.

Of the students in grade 8 who achieved high marks in all their subjects 41 were girls and 10 were boys.

Of the students in grade 9 who achieved high marks in all their subjects 25 were girls and 5 were boys.

Of the students in grade 10 who achieved high marks in all subjects, 15 were girls and 2 were boys.

Such results are now typical of most schools throughout the country, but because lower marks are going to boys it is not regarded as being an important issue.

The education system is now highly feminist, and many teachers have been feminist trained. Those teachers have been trained to have minimal regard for the male gender, or they have been trained to only think negatively of the male gender. If a boy is having problems, then a feminist trained teacher will attribute this to the boy being male. If a girl is having problems, then a feminist trained teacher will regard the problems as being real problems, and much more attention is likely to be paid to those problem.

The results are low marks by boys in primary school and high schools, and falling male enrolment numbers in Universities, but there are also University feminists who want no males at all in Universities in the future
Posted by HRS, Wednesday, 15 November 2006 11:32:34 AM
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HRS..........
"The education system is now highly feminist, and many teachers have been feminist trained. Those teachers have been trained to have minimal regard for the male gender, or they have been trained to only think negatively of the male gender. If a boy is having problems, then a feminist trained teacher will attribute this to the boy being male. If a girl is having problems, then a feminist trained teacher will regard the problems as being real problems, and much more attention is likely to be paid to those problem."

And your proof/data for this generalisation is where?
Posted by PeterJH, Wednesday, 15 November 2006 3:47:27 PM
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PeterJH,

If I might be so bold as to help out with your enquiry of HRS, you might try this site for a sample -

Mad Shiela Musings
http://madsheilamusings.blogspot.com/

This is the personal blog of one fresh newby young teacher, who was recently attached to some school (co-ed) in Geraldton, this next page announced her temp or fulltime appointment, but has recently been cleaned to "protect her identity" as you will see -

http://madsheilamusings.blogspot.com/2006/09/see-ya-deleted-to-protect-my-identity.html

I'm afraid you'll just have to trust me that that's what it said - or you could write her and ask her yourself.

So, go figure, what chance of an education being a boy in her class?
Posted by Maximus, Wednesday, 15 November 2006 5:42:50 PM
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Peter,

I feel you’re trying to be balanced towards boys but can’t seem to break free from a feminist prism that attempts to be negative about male learning. For example:

PW,
Boys watch how the arguments go, then wade in with an attempt to sum up. They would learn more if girls were not there doing all the useful work which got the discussion going.

If it were boys talking first you would say they were dominating the conversation and excluding girls. At any rate, the sentence could easily have been written, ‘boys try to think before they speak; they listen to the available information and then attempt to synthesise it”.

PW,
Boys can offer unusual ideas which may seem off the wall to middle-class, middle aged teachers

Why not write boys have a vivid imagination? If half the population have a certain way of thinking then it's not unusual (ie half the population thinks like that).

PW,
Boys find such [descriptive] tasks tiresome.

I hate to tell you this but it is your problem not the boys. You need to find tasks that inspire and engage them, not treat them like some sort of deficient girls. Try a description of something they like.

PW,
Don’t ever forget that boys enjoy doing tasks that strengthen their sense of strong masculinity.

The assumption here, again, seems to be that there is something is wrong with masculinity. Why wouldn’t you strengthen their masculinity? Would you prefer to destroy their self-confidence instead?

PW,
Boys would more commonly spend time rushing around, playing competitive sport, or making a great noise.

Mmm. They’re acting like children aren’t they!! Instead of being implicitly negative about the way that 50% of the population acts, how about you rephrase the sentence to, ‘Boys love playing games, have a great deal of energy, and are full of life. This is how boys socialise…, they learn these skills…. they stay fit….” , and so on. When so many children are overweight or obese why be negative about activity.
Posted by eet, Wednesday, 15 November 2006 8:07:17 PM
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Cont…

PW,
Boys would be more likely to rush ahead

First you say boys in your tutorials wait and ‘attempt’ to sum up and now you’re saying they ‘rush ahead’. Illogical, but hey: Congratulations! You’re now a fully qualified feminist.

PW,
In a 6th grade class, I was reading The Princess Bride

By 6th grade most boys have had seven female teachers. They’re still very close to their mother but are starting to think about the world of men. They don’t want to grow up to be a Princess Bride. Thank God for that. Why don’t you try reading them a book they like? James Maloney and Paul Jennings might be a good place to start.

PW,
Girls are usually happy to discuss - a word that fills most boys with loathing:

Wrong again. Boys are very happy to discuss things they are interested in. Discussing being a princess bride will not interest them. You need to change, not the boys.

The sad thing is that you’re an ‘expert’ on boys’ education, yet you can’t see past a feminist perspective; a premiss that boys are some type of deficient girl. What hope do boys have? At least at a boys’ only school, even if they do miss out on some socialisation, they won’t be treated as somehow ‘wrong’.
Posted by eet, Wednesday, 15 November 2006 8:08:43 PM
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