Single Sex Schools

[Lonan3]

CLICK

 

Differences in how male and female brains work mean single-sex schooling will make a comeback, a leading headmistress says.

Vicky Tuck, president of the Girls' School Association, which represents the country's top independent girls' schools, told her association's annual conference in Winchester: "Far from living in the dying days of single-sex education, I am confident that as understanding of the brain continues to evolve, what is obvious to us will become obvious to everyone: girls learn in a different way to boys and it is crucial to cater for their separate needs.

"I have a hunch that in 50 years' time, maybe only 25, people will be doubled up with laughter when they watch documentaries about the history of education and discover people once thought it was a good idea to educate adolescent boys and girls together."

She cited evidence in support of her argument showing that neurological differences between the sexes meant girls' brains worked differently to boys' and added it would reverse a 40-year trend towards co-educational schools.

 

Read, inwardly digest, and discuss.

[Skeddan]

Single sexed-schooling yes, single-sexed schools - no.

 

In some subjects it might be better to have separate classes to cater for different learning styles (including gender-based ones), but that doesn't mean the entire school has to be single-sex. Co-ed schools often have different PE classes for boys and girls - why not have different academic classes as well in some subjects.

 

IMO other learning style differences should be recognised also. A lot of kids have 'hidden learning disabilities' - which really just means that the way they are being taught is not suited to how their brains process information - the schoolroom caters to the 'average' - a 10-20% minority who struggle and under-achieve are the price that is paid for that.

[Chinahand]

Schools have to enable their pupils to operate in the real world. That involves understanding the spectrum of abilities and behaviours that exist.

 

General communal activities, more concentrated specialized group activities, one to one learning and self-teaching are all vital skills kids need to learn, plus just getting on with people of all sorts and types.

 

The idea that you can learn these type of skills in a single sex environment is pants.

 

I was a victim of a boys' school and I definitely don't want the experience to be visited upon my children - you miss out too much on learning about the opposite sex. Boys and girls are not so totally different that it is impossible to match them for learning abilities and methods - that can be done via streaming etc - but at other times everyone has to muck in and understand diversity. Taking that away from children is in my mind wrong.

[manxy]

Boys were such a pain at times (my view of school) with their adolescent and idiotic ego's trying to impress our peer group.

You had one mouthpiece who would get attention for the wrong reasons and another two joined him because they were not doing too well in lessons.

 

I'm stuck in the middle here, as on one side, there were times when I just wanted to focus on my studies without some mouthpiece interrupting the lesson because I don't know, he couldn't do it, or just had an urge to spoil the lesson?

However, it's been said that we're two years ahead, maturity wise of the weaker species (lol, that should get a few going) and there were one or two dishy guys who were a couple of years older which was a slight distraction.

I would have preferred to have had certain lessons like Maths and English with the same sex but I suppose it's like anything, you can't have the best of both worlds at the same time, or can you?

[La_Dolce_Vita]

In some subjects it might be better to have separate classes to cater for different learning styles (including gender-based ones),

 

I don't understand your thinking here.

 

 

I think single sex-schools to be a completely backward set-up. It just serves to reinforce gender dichtomies rather than attacking them, but I recognise this is the realm of the education institution, not mainly a forward thinking institution where individual expression is cherished.

[Lonan3]

It just serves to reinforce gender dichtomies rather than attacking them,

 

Freudian slip?

[Skeddan]

In some subjects it might be better to have separate classes to cater for different learning styles (including gender-based ones),

I don't understand your thinking here.

As example, some kids have dominant 'verbal' learning style - how they think and process information is in the 'verbal domain'. Others can be visual - sometimes extremely so. Words have to be translated into images, and thoughts translated into words. (which is a lot of extra effort, and can be hard to keep up with the rest if have to do that).

 

A learning style is a way in which a learner begins to concentrate on, process, and retain new and difficult information (Dunn & Dunn, 1987).

 

Carbo and Hodges (1988) state that “matching students' learning styles with appropriate instructional strategies improves their ability to concentrate and learn” (p. 48). If mismatching occurs, students feel anxious and even physically ill when trying to learn. “Most teachers are best at teaching children who match their own styles of thinking and learning” (Sternberg, 1994, p. 39). Sternberg reports that students tend to receive higher grades when their styles are the same as those of their teachers.

 

Gregorc and Ward's (1977) research showed the following:

 

The instructional materials and techniques used by teachers have a direct effect on many students...If the approach fit the preferred learning mode, the learner usually reacted favorably. If, on the other hand, the methods were mismatched, the student “worked hard to learn”, “learned some and missed some material”, or “tuned out.” (p. 5)

http://www.vccaedu.org/inquiry/inquiry-spring97/i11tayl.html

 

There was a nice story from Sternberg about his teaching statistics to a class of psych students. When he varied the teaching style from 'auditory/verbal' to teaching 'visually', suddenly the 'dumbs' became the 'smarts', and the 'smarts' became the 'dumbs'.

 

IMO better to have classes streamed to take account of learning styles. A fair amount of learning disabilities and underachievement is from the kids being disabled by inappropriate teaching style. I know of someone who was 4 years behind in Maths, and with new teacher and summer holiday special classes, he leapt to being 1 year ahead.

[hboy]

I'd prefer double sex but if single sex lessons are all that is available I'll take them.

[La_Dolce_Vita]

CLICK

 

Differences in how male and female brains work mean single-sex schooling will make a comeback, a leading headmistress says.

living in the dying days of single-sex education, I am confident that as understanding of the brain continues to evolve...

 

"I have a hunch that in 50 years' time, maybe only 25, people will be doubled up with laughter when they watch documentaries about the history of education and discover people once thought it was a good idea to educate adolescent boys and girls together."

She cited evidence in support of her argument showing that neurological differences between the sexes meant girls' brains worked differently to boys' and added it would reverse a 40-year trend towards co-educational schools.

 

Read, inwardly digest, and discuss.

 

She sounds like a dick. I don't like these sort of people who just pick up on any few scientific studies and run with it to further their own agenda. She wants to have single-sex schools regardless of the differences between brains. She just uses this as something to further something that is her life.

I think the idea of same-sex schools is awful when you have children from 9-4 (or worse, those that board) in an environment of only other girls or boys, I mean why should we be segregating parts of society for the sake of better learning. Is this the price some people are willing to pay?

 

I completely disagree with this stupid idea that the sexes have very different brains, which would have to be the case for each sex to require different learning methods. There are more differences in abilities and personalities between the sexes and I think it is wrong to split to pretend that the men and women are so different. Where differences in behaviour do occur it is down to gender and having single-sex schools only perpetuate this trend of giving the impression that the sexes are so different.

 

Hopefully, there won't be an education or schooling system that is so authoritarian, regimented and lacking in adolescent individuality in 25 years.

 

QUOTE (La_Dolce_Vita @ Nov 19 2008, 12:36 PM) *

It just serves to reinforce gender dichtomies rather than attacking them,

 

 

Freudian slip? rolleyes.gif

 

Oops, probably was Lonan.

[Skeddan]

I mean why should we be segregating parts of society for the sake of better learning. Is this the price some people are willing to pay?

 

I completely disagree with this stupid idea that the sexes have very different brains, which would have to be the case for each sex to require different learning methods. There are more differences in abilities and personalities between the sexes and I think it is wrong to split to pretend that the men and women are so different. Where differences in behaviour do occur it is down to gender and having single-sex schools only perpetuate this trend of giving the impression that the sexes are so different.

 

Hopefully, there won't be an education or schooling system that is so authoritarian, regimented and lacking in adolescent individuality in 25 years.

LDV - there are statistical differences between males and females. But if I understand you right, you are saying there are equally if not more important differences in learning style other than just gender based.

 

I think that's right. Some girls might have a more 'male' learning style than some boys. Why put those boys in the boys class rather than in the girls? The labels are just silly. We should recognise differences in learning style among children as a whole, and devise teaching methods to best cater to them all.

 

At the moment there is a tendency to 'one size fits all' (except extreme 'special needs'). This would only be 'one size for all boys fits all boys' and 'one size for all girls fits all girls'. As you say it does nothing to recognise the individuality of the child or adolescent.

[La_Dolce_Vita]

At the moment there is a tendency to 'one size fits all' (except extreme 'special needs'). This would only be 'one size for all boys fits all boys' and 'one size for all girls fits all girls'. As you say it does nothing to recognise the individuality of the child or adolescent.

 

A lot of my initial opinions on this, stem from my understanding of gender studies and from my politics. I don't like the authoritarian methods of forcing children apart because of their gender and I recognise gender to be a social construct.

 

I do not believe learning should in any way be driven by the needs of work, but then it should not be driven by what the government wants kids to learn. Children should drive their own learning. So this sort of stuff seems awful to me.

[hboy]

Children should drive their own learning.

 

So its Playstations all round then?

[Pragmatopian]

LDV - there are statistical differences between males and females. But if I understand you right, you are saying there are equally if not more important differences in learning style other than just gender based.

 

I think that's right. Some girls might have a more 'male' learning style than some boys. Why put those boys in the boys class rather than in the girls? The labels are just silly. We should recognise differences in learning style among children as a whole, and devise teaching methods to best cater to them all.

 

At the moment there is a tendency to 'one size fits all' (except extreme 'special needs'). This would only be 'one size for all boys fits all boys' and 'one size for all girls fits all girls'. As you say it does nothing to recognise the individuality of the child or adolescent.

 

That would be my view on this. There is substantial variability within sexes in preferred learning style: not just between sexes. By all means match teaching styles to children's learning styles, but segregating on the basis of sex would be a mistake. If nothing else, single sex schools tend to result in young adults with a view of the opposite sex that is misguided at best and unhealthy at worst.

[La_Dolce_Vita]

LDV - there are statistical differences between males and females. But if I understand you right, you are saying there are equally if not more important differences in learning style other than just gender based.

 

I think that's right. Some girls might have a more 'male' learning style than some boys. Why put those boys in the boys class rather than in the girls? The labels are just silly. We should recognise differences in learning style among children as a whole, and devise teaching methods to best cater to them all.

 

At the moment there is a tendency to 'one size fits all' (except extreme 'special needs'). This would only be 'one size for all boys fits all boys' and 'one size for all girls fits all girls'. As you say it does nothing to recognise the individuality of the child or adolescent.

 

That would be my view on this. There is substantial variability within sexes in preferred learning style: not just between sexes. By all means match teaching styles to children's learning styles, but segregating on the basis of sex would be a mistake. If nothing else, single sex schools tend to result in young adults with a view of the opposite sex that is misguided at best and unhealthy at worst.

 

I agree 100%. Do you read into gender studies yourself?

[Albert Tatlock]

I witnessed the end of single sex schooling at high school over here. All I remember was starting boys only in year 1 and being at the top of the class, and ending up year 3 at the bottom of the class and heartbroken. Luckily I recovered in the last few years at school and got back on track.

 

I think it's got it good points and bad points. But with exams being so easy these days, does it really matter? You could be in the same class as the PG-Tips' monkeys and still walk away with good grades.