The Rising Debate Over Single-Gender Classrooms

A new trend is developing in traditional public schools throughout the nation: single-gender classes. The reasons parents or students choose single-gendered classrooms are as diverse as the reactions from teachers and administrators.

All-girl or all-boy education has historically existed in American private schools. Today, single-gender education is available in public magnet or charter schools, and can now be found in some traditional public school settings, after changes to the federal Title IX were made in response to the No Child Left Behind Act.

David Chadwell, an educator, curriculum developer, and the author of “A Gendered Choice: Designing and Implementing Single-Sex Programs and Schools,” started and taught an all-boy class in a South Carolina magnet school, which later led him to work eight years as the coordinator of single-gender education with the state’s Department of Education Office of Public School Choice. His position was the only kind in the nation.

Chadwell remembers plenty of support from parents on the ground. “A couple of parents would contact me from out-of-state and say ‘We are moving,’” because they wanted their child in a single-gendered program, he said.

He met with principals, superintendents, and teachers throughout the state; gave presentations on what single-gender programs are about; and warned about stereotyping, like using pink to decorate the all-girl classrooms and blue for the all-boy classrooms. “Lots of people thought that it was going back to the days of … girls learning cooking and boys doing wood shop. Once you start to educate parents that everyone is learning the same standards, [and that] they have to take the same test,” people’s minds start to change.

Although some parents did not want their child to be in a single-gendered program, Chadwell made it clear that it is a choice. “That is the beauty of it. It’s not mandated, it really is a choice, and parents got that,” said Chadwell.

Through research and visits to many schools throughout South Carolina, Chadwell noticed that many gaps among students are gender-based. Notably, boys had much higher numbers of disciplinary actions on their record, while girls had higher reading ability and reading achievements.

Students’ reaction to single-gender classes remain mixed—some like it and some don’t. However, a survey done in a New York elementary school showed that the majority of students in their single-gender classrooms enjoyed the experience. In the survey, 15 out of 17 girls who chose to be in a single-gendered class said they liked it, as did 15 out of 16 boys surveyed.

One young girl talked about how she loved that she was being included in games at recess and conversations at lunch since joining an all-girl class. Her comments are reported in the school’s online presentation.

There are rules to follow if a school offers alternative single-gender classes: There has to be a valid educational objective, the parents have to know, it has to be voluntary, and the education has to be the same.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is concerned that some programs may be causing more problems than they are solving. In May 2012, the ACLU began the “Teach Kids, Not Stereotypes” campaign, in response to the growing number of single-gender classes.

Christina Brandt-Young, attorney with the Women’s Rights Project of the ACLU in New York, said they have sent ‘cease and desist’ letters to school districts in 15 states that violate federal laws by forcing students into single-gender classrooms. “Our campaign is focused on schools that are basing their programs around questionable science on how girls’ and boys’ brains develop,” said Brandt-Young.

“Boys and girls have multiple learning differences … kids show a lot of different learning styles,” said Brandt-Young, adding that quality teaching involves teaching to many different learning styles simultaneously, not by separating the genders.

Brandt-Young said they found certain gender-based strategies “harmful because it assumes that all children are the same and doesn’t prepare students for the real world.” According to Brandt-Young, questionable strategies include asking boys what story characters do, while asking girls how they feel about a story; adjusting the room temperature; or fixing test time-limits based on gender.

The Epoch Times publishes in 35 countries and in 19 languages. Subscribe to our e-newsletter. 

Read more at The Epoch Times