More Thoughts Pages
Choosing A Single Sex School
The Trouble With Single-Sex Schools (Wendy Kaminer)
Single Sex Schools: Not a Cure-All
In 1954, Brown v Board of Ed held that segregated public schools are unconstitutional because they promote inequality. This was a more controversial decision than some might think in that at the time there was a split between those that thought the problem was that black schools were inferior, and others who felt separating children by race in itself was a problem. Thurgood Marshall, in charge of the lawsuit and its strategy, believed that a central problem was that separating the races in school promoted separation in society as a whole, separation that ultimately furthered inequality between the races. Prejudice is furthered when the races stay apart, see themselves as so different that they must go to different schools, have different friends, live differently, and ultimately have a different degree of success in life. Separation promotes ignorance, fear, and uncomfort. Our nation's motto (check the back of a dollar bill) is "ex pluribus unum," "out of many one." Segregation replaces it with "ex unum pluribus" or "out of one, many." Yes, bad motive made racial segregation especially troubling, but separation per se is troubling.
Those who support same sex or race schools should keep this in mind. Supporters of same sex schools would reply that girls need to have their own school to have an opportunity for their interests to be respected. Boys dominate too much, get more attention, and in the end, a better education in many ways. An all girls school allows girls to prosper on their own terms without the competition of boys, which has various other problems (sex, pregnancy, and so on) as well. This is true as far as it goes, but how will we have a society in which the sexes work together, if they grow up apart? Both sexes have to deal with each other, and requiring them to go to school together helps them learn how to do this. It is akin to expecting a couple to survive marry life without dating and learning about and how to deal with each other beforehand. If we face the inequities of the sexes early on, it will be easier, instead of separating them and expecting them to know how to live with each other later on.
The sexes interact in various ways, but an important area is obviously romantic. School provides a regulated environment for boys and girls to work through the usually complicated and messy development of sexuality and interaction with the opposite sex. It also helps the social development (hard for those shy, away from many people of the opposite sex their age, or any number of other people who don't have a chance go to school with many of the opposite sex) of our general dealings with the opposite sex, which sexual harassment (and worse) in the workplace and the world at large shows is often a problem into adulthood. We can take an ostrich head in the sand approach and think separating the sexes in school will make this difficult time safer, but the number of school dropouts and truants alone who get in trouble shows the folly of that route.
Sex and gender also are complicated concepts. If we split the sexes up in school, the schools would often become somewhat stereotypically masculine or feminine. This is a logical fear given that when we think of many all male or all female schools, we often think of a certain sex specific image: athletic motivated for guys or less competitive for women. The fact that such biases tend to be less distinct today still makes them troubling, especially since the biases of the student body is likely to be deeper than official school policy. The complexity of sexual difference makes mixing men and women, boys and girls in the same school the best path to a diversified and full education experience.
The sexes are different. The difference is not a simple affair that can be easily spelled out, and overlap and various shades of gray are involved across the board. Nonetheless, only willful ignorance allows us to suggest that races, sexes, sexual orientations, and so on are not different in a varied number of ways. This can be troubling, but it also can be beneficial, because a mix of various points of views and abilities is ultimately a good thing. This mixture is not easily achieved if we segregate the different groups, do not allow masculine and feminine points of view to inspire each of us, resulting into a complex whole. A mutt often is the superior animal, and the same applies when people and ideas are involved.
If we want diversity in the work place, the government, and television, the same is true in primary and secondary education. School is where our dealings with others truly begin, and ideally it is as broad an experience as we will ultimately have to deal with once we escape. Schools should not only not segregate the sexes, but should encourage the mix, encourage a truly diversified school body. The same applies to the students themselves, who all too often socially do what the law does not allow: separate in to distinct groups that deprives them of the broad array of friends and companions that are out there. Some grouping of similar types are sure to occur, but schools should not artificially limit this natural process by segregation of any kind, by race or by sex.