Mitchell1

DannyMitchell
ProfessorRego
CompositionII
17February2016
SingleSexSchoolsvsCoedSexSchools
Thefirstschoolswereoriginallymaleonlyschools.Femaleswerenotallowedtogoto
schoolandreceiveaneducation,thusunintentionallycreatingsinglesexschools.Theseschools
havebecomeincreasinglypopularintheUnitedStates
.
Singlesexschoolsprovidestudentswith
uniqueexperiencesandnontraditionalteachingmethods,qualitiesthatareveryappealing
.
At
singlesexschools,studentsaregiventhechancetomatureintoyoungadultswithouttheadded
pressuresofbeingjudgedbytheirpeersorimpressingtheoppositesex
.
Singlesexschoolsare
beneficialbecausestudentswillbreakgenderstereotypes,willfeelmorecomfortableintheir
learningenvironment,andwillnothavetoworryabouttheteachermovingtooslowforthem
.
Oneofthemainbenefitsofsinglesexschoolsisthelackofgenderstereotypes
.
Students
donothavetoworryaboutbeingjudgedfordoingsomethingthatmaytypicallybedonebythe
oppositesex
.
Forexample,atamaleonlyschool,therearenofemalestodothestereotypical
feminineactivitiessuchaswritingthenewspaper,starringinthemusicals,orjoiningartclub
.
Itopensupopportunitiesthatstudentsmayhaveshiedawayfromatcoedschoolsbecausethey
didnotwanttobelabeledastoofeminineortoomasculine
.
Atsinglesexschools,studentsdont
havetoworryaboutbeinglabeledforbreakingthegenderstereotypesbecausethereisnooneof
thecorrectgendertodoitinstead
.
Therearenogirlstowritethenewspaper,singinthe

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musicals,orjointheartclubtheboyshavetodoit
.
Singlesexschoolsbreakdownthe
traditionalgenderstereotypessothatanyonefeelsliketheycandoanything
.
Anothermajorbenefitofsinglesexschoolsisamorecomfortablelearningenvironment
forstudents
.
Studentswillhavelessscrutinyontheirbodiesastheydevelop,aspubertyoften
lowersselfesteem(Weil)
.
Ifteenagersaresurroundedbytheoppositesexwhiletheirbodiesare
maturing,theywillfeelmorepressuretolookgoodorbecool
.
Thepressuresofcoed
schoolscanbeseenwhenChristineGrossLohstates,Itsaboutwearingtherightthings,saying
therightthings,laughingtherightwayattherightjokesWhenadolescentsaredoingthat,
itsiphonsenergyoffofotherpursuits
.
Essentially,beingcooltakesenergyandeffortaway
fromstudentsacademicsandstudying
.
Ifthereisnooneoftheoppositesextoimpress,then
thatenergyisactuallyputintomorebeneficialareas(GrossLoh)
.
PippaBiddle,whowenttoan
allgirlshighschool,recalls,Icouldwakeupfiveminutesbeforeclass,pullonclothes,andfeel
justasbeautifulasIwouldhavewithfullhairandmakeup
.
Thevaluewasputonwhowewere,
notwhatwelooklike(GrossLoh)
.
Singlesexschoolsalsoallowstudentstogrowintotheir
trueselveswithoutfakingittoimpresstheoppositesex
.
Ifstudentsareneverworryingabout
lookinggoodfortheircrush,thentheycanfocusmoreontheirstudies
.
Anotherreasonthatsexesshouldbeseparatedatschoolisthatboysandgirlsdevelopat
differentrates,causingthemtobemoreorlessacademicallyready
.
Atcoedschools,the
curriculumismorelikelytobefoundconfusingbecausethestudentsareallatdifferentmaturity
levels
.
Atsinglesexschools,thestudentswillbeatthesamelevel,makingiteasierforthemto

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learn(Xiong)
.
Thisalsoallowstheteacherstomoveontothenexttopicquicker,allowingthem
tocovermoreinayearthantheywouldbeabletoiftheywereteachingatacoedschool
.
Singlesexschoolsarealsobeneficialtostudentsbecausemalesandfemaleslearndifferently
.
Studentswillbelesssuccessfulatcoedschoolsbecauseeachsexisnotbeingtaughtinthemost
advantageousandefficientway
.
Teacherswilltendtoonlyknowhowtoteachaparticularway,
whichwilloftenonlybenefithalfoftheclass
.
Themostbeneficialteachingmethodsarebased
onthebiologicalmakeupofthedifferentsexes
.
Malestendtonothearaswellasfemales,which
meanstheteachersmustspeaklouder(Weil)
.
Ifateacherisnotspeakingloudenough,veryfew
boyswillhavethecouragetoaskthemtospeakup
.
Iftheteacherdoesspeakloudenoughforthe
boystohear,thenthegirlswillfeelliketheteacherisscreamingoryellingatthem,asgirlsare
oftenmoresensitive
.
Anotherbiologicaldifferencebetweenmalesandfemalesisthewaythat
theyseethings
.
Malesusuallyseeactionandadventurebetter,whilegirlsseethenuancesand
detailsofcolorandtexture(Weil)
.
Singlesexschoolscanconcentrateonaspecifictypeof
teachingtoallowthestudentstoreachtheirpotential
.
Studentsshouldattendsinglesexschoolsbecauseitwillteachthemtobreakgender
stereotypes,willallowthemtolearninamorecomfortablelearningenvironment,andwill
encouragethemtofocusontheirschoolnotworryingabouttheteachernotmovingtooslow
.
Beingtaughttobreakgenderstereotypeswillallowstudentstoachieveanythingthattheyset
theirmindto,withoutconcernofthelimitssocietyplacesonthem
.
Studentswillgrow
individuallyandmaturewhentheyareinanenvironmentwheretheyfeelateaseandrelaxed
.

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Althoughsomepeoplebelievethatsinglesexschoolsarebestthereareotherswhowould
disagreeandarguethatcoedschoolsarebetter.Somepeoplethinkthatcoedschoolsisthe
bestthingforkidsanditmaybe,butitalldependsonwhatkindofpersontheyareandmost
importantlywhatkindoflearnertheyare.Thereareafewthingscoedschoolsdodifferently
thansinglesexschools.Coedschoolsofferamorediversecurriculumtogetstudentstoexplore
abroadrangeoflearningopportunities.Itcanalsoopenupalargerrangeofextracurricular
activitiessuchassports,choir,theatreanddifferenttypesofclubs.
Goingtoaschoolwithouttheoppositesexwillkeepstudentsfocusedandallowthemto
shineintheiracademics
.
Overall,thebenefitsofsinglesexschoolsgreatlyoutweighthoseof
coedschools,andstudentsshouldwelcometheideaoflearninginanontraditionalenvironment
.

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GrossLoh,Christine
.
TheNeverEndingControversyOverAllGirlsEducation
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TheAtlantic
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2014
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17Feb
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2015
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Mansfield,KatherineC
.

TheGrowthOfSingleSexSchools:FederalPolicyMeetsLocalNeeds
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:EducationPolicyAnalysisArchives,2013
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Weil,Elizabeth
.
TeachingBoysandGirlsSeparately
.

TheNewYorkTimes
,01Mar
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2008
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.
Xiong,CindyY
.

SingleSexEducation:ProsandCons
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