Single Gender Classes Argument

Single gender schools are becoming virtually nonexistent. There are around sixty same sex colleges left in the country. Though the classes they offer help stimulate the students to perform better, people are less willing to attend. Science is proving there is a difference in thinking between boys and girls. In recent years, amid much talk of gender equity and the elimination of sexism, much attention has been paid to the ability of girls and boys to learn effectively in a coed high school classroom. Single gender classes are beneficial to students because they help promote academic supremacy by eliminating distractions, destroying thoughts of being inadequate to the other sex, and reducing the feeling of being left behind.

The single gender classes downsize learning capabilities. Those who feel this way believe they do not help but rather distract the students from their studies. Single-sex classes, though, deny girls the opportunity to interact with males in such a competitive situation as a math class. Creating "comfortable" situations in which girls may learn more easily will become less and less accessible to girls as they advance to higher education and enter the workforce. Teaching students to interact and to compete effectively in future situations takes its place just next to imparting knowledge as the main responsibility of schools to their students. Being in an all male or female class, the student is surrounded by more friends than he, or she, usually would be.

Being around friends would enhance the amount of talking and disturbance levels would rise, henceforth the teacher would not be able to give the lesson. When a student, currently enrolled in a single gender class, was asked if her class was helping her with the course she responded with a negative answer. The class was too chatty and incoherent. Some single gender classes may be so, however with a strict, teacher a friendly environment could be more progressive. In a class full of friends someone would be less frightened of giving the wrong answer in class and more willing to participate. Single-sex classrooms supposedly create a more comfortable environment in which girls are more open to learning. Within this comfortable area they learn what the boys are taught. If the class regularly runs drills or exercises in class then there should be no problem with competition. The knowledge is there the practice is there, the only problem arises when the character of the girl going up to and facing a boy.

Proponents of these programs feel that the absence of males in the classroom reduces, and may eliminate sexism in the classroom and create a calmer environment where learning is more likely to occur. Girls may, indeed, feel more comfortable asking questions in a class where comments and put-downs are less likely to bombard her and will find learning in such an environment much easier than combating such a situation on a daily basis in a coed class. When in the class with a hostile vibe and a feeling of inferiority a student would be more prone to sit with their head down and try not to participate. In a single gender class the distraction of infatuation is taken care of helping with the concentration factor. If a student is struggling and everyone around them is excelling the child is less likely to ask for help and tries to fit in.

Boys and girls learn at different paces in certain subjects. With technology steadily on the rise, scientists are able to do tasks once thought impossible. Mapping the brain and brain activity are now available. Studies show that boys are more logical thinkers, asserting themselves in subjects such as science and math. Boys are better at math and science than girls; thereby the classes should at least have the option of being in a single gender class. When males see a problem they think with the right side of their brain. The right side of the brain is a more critical solver than the left side. Using the right side of the brain you think of how and the best way to solve it. Girls are more creative. Since a female will think with the left side of her brain, she will dominate in reading and writing. Problems are not viewed the same way between sexes. A female will look at a situation and start to think of different scenarios for it and put an inquisitive twist into it. In a math class if boys are progressing at a rate that the girls cannot keep with, the entire class must stay behind on that one topic to have everyone at the same level. The problem with this is that the students who get it would be males and are then in turn being held back from their ultimate potential and vice-versa fro girls in a language arts class. Not one gender is better but rather that both excel in different fields.

After viewing these facts and ideas how one can think that a single gender class will not improve concentration and a steady work ethic is simply impossible. If simple techniques of dispelling stereotypes and drawing attention to sexism are implemented, they will create a more comfortable environment in which girls can learn effectively and cooperatively with their male classmates while retaining their confidence in their own ability to succeed in certain classes, no matter what the level bypassing the need for a single sex class. While some classes should be integrated, others need to provide a state of stability and knowledge; some classes should have the option to be segregated between male and female students.