I found an article stating that single-sex schools have a negative impact while providing little to no benefits.
The articles says that kids in single-sex schools "showed an increase in gender-specific stereotypes" meaning they acted more according to cultural stereotypes (girls have tea parties). This just goes to show how society pushes for separation of the genders. The people supporting single-sex schools "argue that boys' and girls' brains are wired differently, and therefore require different teaching styles."
If there was more mingling at a young age, then gender roles/stereotypes would have a much smaller impact later on in life. The fact that it's not like that says something about society's power structure.
I think this is a horrible idea for many reasons. First, as previously stated, it enforces gender-specific stereotypes that in modern society, from which we are accepting more deviance. Secondly, as stated in the article, it allows students to adapt to being in a single-sex environment when most colleges and the real world are co-ed. Additionally, a very positive impact of co-ed classrooms, especially during discussions, is the variety of opinions of individuals. If we assume that men and women think differently (which is the argument for these schools), wouldn't both genders learn from hearing ideas from the other gender?
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with all of you here. It is fundamentally wrong to show kids from an early age that there is a room for stereotypes. This is a period in children’s lives when they form their first opinions about social interaction and make discoveries about their own gender comforts. It is very crucial to give them variety of choices to express themselves, but if those choices are limited they will be only forced to conform to preset standards and rules.
ReplyDeleteI am totally against blue vs. pink. Also, boys are allowed to get dirty outside, but girls must stay indoors to have tea parties. Little girls have tea parties only because the school or their parents expect them to perform the usual stereotypical gender roles imposed by society.
I think that this is a terrible idea. By segregating boys and girls from one another at an early age, we are practically telling them that "boys must play with boys and girls must play with girls." If this mindset continues, then gender stereotypes will never disappear. Of course, even if this were prohibited, the stereotypes will not completely be eliminated. However, it is sad to know that most people expect their children to follow the gender norms imposed by society.
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