Talk Point # 7: Weil

“Enough parents were impressed that when Foley Intermediate, a school of 322 fourth and fifth graders, reopened after summer recess, the school had four single-sex classrooms: a girls’ and a boys’ class in both the fourth and fifth grades. Four classrooms in each grade remained coed.”

This quote stuck out to me and something I thought to be important in the article. I have never heard of a school that has both co-ed classroom and single-sex classrooms. I have heard of schools that were only co-ed and I have heard of schools that were only single-sex, but never a combination. I also thought it was interesting that they were able to transition the classrooms so quickly. It only took a summer to make the transition. I think the concept of having both is interesting. It brings the best of both worlds into the picture. If parents choose to have their child in a single-sex classroom they can and at some points throughout the day such as recess their child still has the option to interact with students of the opposite sex.

“Among his early proposals was that boys should start kindergarten at age 6, a year later than girls, in order to ease the “sense of scholastic incompetence” that so many boys feel early on because they tend to develop later. Several friends quickly convinced Sax that American families would never go for this. So Sax started thinking it might be better for boys and girls to be in different classrooms.”

This quote is interesting, because at first Sax wanted to take a different approach. He wanted boys to start an entire year later then girls. I do not think a lot of parents would go for this, because I think that most parents want their child to start school on time just like any other student. I believe that more parents would think it is better if their child started school on time, but were separated by gender. If boys mature at an older age then girls, then it would make sense to put the boys together since they are all at the same maturity level in a sense and for all the girls to be together as well.

“Baby boys prefer to stare at mobiles; baby girls at faces. Boys solve maze puzzles using the hippocampus; girls use the cerebral cortex. Boys covet risk; girls shy away. Boys perform better under moderate stress; girls perform worse.”

This shows that even as babies, there are such gender difference and as a person grows older, the differences only become noticeable and complex. I can understand why it makes sense to separate boys and girls in the classroom. Boys learn a like and girls learn alike and the way boys and girls learn can differ. If the separation is made, then students may be able to learn better.

This article made a lot of good points. I never realized schools with coed and single-sex classrooms existed. I think it can work well, because it gives students the chance to learn with students of the same gender and better their education, but they are not deprived of being around students of the opposite sex which I think is very important. I also believe it depends on the student as well. I went to a coed and received a very good education and good grades. I know people who went to single-sex schools and said they enjoyed it, but wish the opposite sex was around more. This arrangement gives the best of both worlds.