Be heard on the issues that matter most to you!
In Separate Or Not , a teacher discusses the "completely contrary to feminist thought" concept of same-sex education (or, if you prefer, separation of genders in classrooms).
Her personal experiences lead her to conclude:
As for someone who fought for gender equality I am willing to be politically incorrect in firmly stating my belief that based on the reasons above, students should be separated in classrooms to facilitate their learning. Is it time for the “fad” for separation of students to return? I think so.
Matters of gender identity aside (for that's too complicated a matter for me to contemplate at this wee hour), I am inclined to agree. Somewhat.
As a graduate of an all-women's college, I certainly benefited from the women-only atmosphere. We were free from (perceived or real) the attacks on our way of processeing and thinking.
For example, the safe male-free zone meant we were able to raise our hands and admit how many of us were raped, abused, assaulted etc., and add our experiences of such things to discussion of crime, victim protection and the inaccurate numbers officials report of such events. How many women would admit such things in mixed company? (That's supposed to be a rhetorical question. But for the thick-headed, let me spell it out. Very few would announce such things in mixed company; for victims do not want to be labeled as such, creating an advertising opportunity for sickos.)
However, as I commented , other experiences and the plain old-fact that we are not living in (nor desire to live in) a gender-separated society poses questions, such as when to separate and when to mingle. Are there specific ages, or topics, which lend themselves more to separate education situations?
Of course, some of you may completely disagree with any separation at all...
I look forward to your answers.
Oh, and this article is also published at the author's blog ; so you may wish to follow comments there as well.
I run Sex-Kitten.net.
Of course, what women need is to be closed off from the scary, abusive, stifling male portion of society and allowed to flourish without being subjected to any real or imagined threats. Surely this will lead to an era of light and equality, where men finally realize that women are just as able to cope in competitve academic environments; where women can stop believing that they are of a different breed and class, unable to fulfill those jobs which men presently dominate! Besides, this will put and end to those awkward situations in which women must confront those who don't process and think the same way that they do.
Make it so!
Ryan, I can't tell which way your passion is leaning.. sarcasm was my first thought, but on my second read the intensity made me wonder if you wanted such a world as you described.
So far, if I'm reading all the comments at a total of 3 sites correctly, most people are thinking separation at times is a good thing, as is the choice to pick a gender specific shcool ~ if all things are equal in terms of quality at each school.
I run Sex-Kitten.net.
It's interesting, Gracie: Rashima's essay (the one you link to) discusses separation of all sorts, not just gender separation. But where it does discuss separating students by gender the benefit is to the boys. I always think about single-gender classrooms as being set up for the benefit of girls and yet this reminds us to consider that boys benefit too. It's been ages since I've looked at any data on single-gender education but I wonder if boys actually benefit more?
The reason Rashima gives for the benefit she noted is the removal of social distractions. The boys stopped posing and posturing, she says. I have heard the same argued as a source of benefit for girls too. Rather than focusing on "victimization" or intimidation, the focus is put on the intensity of the erotic and social tensions between boys and girls and the attendant distractions from academic work.
My own students who have come out of single-gender schools have remarked on the same thing. They've also typically been schools with uniforms or fairly rigid dress codes and students report at least some reduction of what might be called fashion distractions. it's interesting to discuss the issue in classes. Often the students who went to co-ed schools (the vast majority) can't imagine ever wanting to be in a single-gender school and think the idea is a bad one because it prevents boys and girls from learning how to deal with each other. The students who attended single-gender education often report on the usefulness of it, and on the other places where they got to interact in mixed gender groups.
I'm teaching a Sociology of Gender course this semester. I should ask my students to comment on this, and I should also go back and check out studies of single-gender education to see if there is data on the relative benefits experienced by boys and by girls. Wouldn't it be ironic if it turns out boys benefit more?
...because public space really matters!
Elizabeth
There are so many conversations going on this, that I may be mistaken, but I do think it was discussed somewhere that boys are more distracted by girls in classrooms. And I do believe there was not too long ago a study or report of an all boys school (and if I am recalling right, also black students?) which had results to say that such separation was benefitial to the boys... If I have time later I'll look it up.
There are also the matters of other educational components at work -- you'd have to compare equal quality schools and programs and isolate the separation issue to see if that's what is really at work.
My experiences in college make me think that there are times and places for separations, but that we do have to come together, work together, as we will eventually in the life outside of/after school.
PS Pls excuse typos etc., I'm typin on the fly!
I run Sex-Kitten.net.
