Advincula, Jerome Englcom Argumentative essay: Single-sex education

School is the place where most people learn the basic things in life. It is where students develop what they want to be in the future. Students hone their skills and talents in school. It is the foundation of knowledge of every person. Therefore, it is important to optimize the students learning. In Co-ed schools, boys and girls are distracted by each other; boys and girls also learn differently. The students learning is not optimized, but in Single-sex education, it could be. They need to be free from distraction and focus in developing their selves as much as possible. Single-sex education satisfies this needs. Boys and girls should attend separate schools in highschool.

Single-sex, exclusive-sex or single-gender education is practiced in and propelled by tradition and religion in many different countries. In Single- sex education, boys and girls attend classes, buildings, or schools separately (Single-sex education”, n.d.). They are not taught together unlike in Co-ed or Co-education schools which is the opposite of Single-sex education.

Distraction is one of the causes why students fail. Boys and girls distract each other. Their mere presence to each other is a pestilence in their attention. Teenagers, having high hormonal levels, are the most vulnerable to distraction among sexes. Instead of studying, boys and girls try to impress, make sexual advances, and sexually harass each other (“Single-sex education”, n.d.). In Co-ed schools, boys and girls are more afraid on being humiliated in front of their opposite sex than not understanding correctly the lesson. And also, boys are worried to be called soft and for girls tomboys if they go in fields that are not common for their gender. Another factor to consider is love. Love is a common them in highschool. If a boy and a girl who happen to “love” each other were to study in the same classroom, their emotions might get the best of them. Instead of pursuing their main objective in attending classes which is to learn and to study, they would be tempted to concern each other’s needs or their relationships needs instead of their own needs. Is better to prevent this from happening rather fix it when it has already started.

Another issue to consider why boys and girls should attend separate schools in highschool is their learning capacity. “Girls and boys learn differently.” (Sugden, 2009, p. 1) By separating boys and girls in classes, the teachers could teach each gender in their own pace. Girls mature faster and can concentrate easier; boys are a bit more analog in a way that they need to be taught directly. (Sugden, 2009) Each gender will learn more efficiently if they are taught separately. Mixing them in a single classroom would mean that in some lessons. The boys would get left behind by the girls and vice versa. With single-sex education, the teachers would have to worry about those who are really slow in learning.

However, some people say that because of studying in single-sex education, interaction with the opposite-sex is left behind. Student from single-sex schools are said to be unable to handle their opposite-sex properly. They do not know how to interact with their opposite-sex and so there will be difficulties in cooperation if there are opposite-sex members in a group. (“Single-sex education”) Their solution to that problem is Co-education. That claim has no basis. There is no proof that Co-ed college students who studied from single-sex highschools are not inclined in interacting with the opposite-sex. Also, it is not only in the school that teenagers are exposed to their opposite-sex. There is the community, the media, the neighborhood, the church and many other factors that could develop a student’s interaction with the opposite-sex. Interaction with the opposite sex is not limited in the school. The purpose of highschools is to teach teenagers and prepare them for college. And as stated before, boys and girls tend to distract each other in school rather than develop their interaction skill.s

Therefore, it is better for boys and girls to attend separate schools in highschools. As if their hormones plus school work are not problems enough for them. Boys and girls would also learn more effectively and they are not distracted by their emotions and feelings for the opposite sex in a classroom.

Reference:

Wikipedia.org (n.d.) Single-sex education. Retrieved April 6, 2010, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Single-sex_education#Criticism

(Single-sex education”, n.d.)

Sugden, J. (December 4, 2009) A debate on co-ed education. Retrieved April 6, 2010, http://www.whyboysfail.com/2009/12/04/a-debate-on-co-ed-education/

(Sugden, 2009, p. 1)

Sugden, J. (December 4, 2009) A debate on co-ed education. Retrieved April 6, 2010, http://www.whyboysfail.com/2009/12/04/a-debate-on-co-ed-education/

(Sugden, 2009)