Why Single-Gender Education is Great for Middle-Schoolers

Thanks to Lori for pointing out this article to me about how South Carolina Leads in Single-Gender Education. It's always a welcome surprise to see my home state leading in anything beyond syphilis, teenage pregnancy or heart disease.

Though I have tried desperately to be anonymous and cagey on this blog, I'm not good at keeping secrets. Lily goes to the school mentioned in the article. And sending her there was the best thing we ever did. EVER!

Remember how confusing middle school was? You couldn't even trust your own body. So much to deal with, so few skills to even begin to cope. What if you could make it easy by taking out boys (or girls) in the classroom and gear teaching to the way you learn? What if the main thing you learned was to trust yourself and your own ability to make good decisions? Can there be a better preparation for high school -- or life?

Lily had gone to an excellent private school since kindergarten. In the lower school years our parent-teacher conferences would sometimes include remarks by the teacher that "Lily needs to let the other children answer the questions once in a while."

So, last year in sixth grade, we were blown away in the parent-teacher conferences when all the teachers talked about how that although Lily knows exactly what is going on in class, she will not talk or participate unless called upon.

Our girl no longer believed that she could trust herself to believe the things she knew to be true.

I went to a woman's college and it was a wonderful thing for me. And when I was a writer at the ad agency, I had a woman's college account. I am well versed in the research about the advantages of a single-gender education, especially for young women.

When our daughter lost her voice, I knew where she could find it: In a single-gender environment.

I read Why Gender Matters I love this bookby Leonard Sax and knew we were on the right track. (Parents of boys: he has a new book out, Boys Adrift Another good one)

We had already paid the monstrous tuition for the private school, and the only single-gender middle school that existed last year was in another district, so we had to find and buy land there, pay tuition to the public school and get Lily admitted to the magnet program.

We did it all -- and it was the best thing we've ever done. (Funny detail: we bought our property from another family in our district whose daughter was finishing the single-gender program in the other district so they no longer needed it....)

Lily transferred mid-year, starting after Christmas. When I picked her up the first day I asked her what she learned. She said, "I learned about hair weaves and extensions." No doubt that is something we all need to know more about. She was clearly enjoying being with a wide variety of girls.

I think she had her voice back in within a week. When a friend from the private school asked what it was like, Lily said, "It's like going to school with all your best friends. We talk and laugh and have a wonderful time in class."

I think it's possible that they are learning, too. Not just the stuff you have to know to move on to the next step, but things that are really important, such as what you believe matters.

Comments

[Anwyn]

Hum. A program like that might be enough to lure me back to teaching. Might.

Aside, I challenge anybody to find me a box of stones dumber than NOW president Kim Gandy. "The state shouldn't advocate educational experiments?" Of course not. Except for sex and homosexual education, God as Universal Offense and Rights Infringement, and revisionist history.

[Anwyn]

Well, that's a trifle odd--I wasn't thinking of the Sox when I made the comment...

[Lori]

WTH? - in many ways, experimentation has dragged government education down. Too much money to play with.... Okay, you can tell one of the things I like about parochial schools: they've never had the money for the next theory coming down the pike, but had to focus on doing the basics, and doing them well. (eternal damnation, and all that)

I am thrilled about the single gender schools, and impressed with the wisdom of SC - Anne and I share a common love - I went to an all-girls' high and then on to our alma mater (mb and I agree - we should've stayed there!)

[Lori]

and, oh yeah, I forgot - not a fan of the "Middle School Concept" in general, (as we experienced it in Va Beach, Va) but pleased to see its successes
okay - I'm spent! thanks for humoring me!

[Anne]

I don't get Kim Gandy's comment at all. Single-gender education is Good for Women. And if it's Good for Men, too, doesn't that make the world a better place? Anwyn's box of rocks comment is, I'm afraid, on target.

Lori, I wish you and MB HAD stayed. And now it's not even a woman's college anymore. I'll never forgive them for that.

Did I miss something about Sox? I loved his book.

Oh, Anwyn -- Lily's language arts teacher had retired from teaching but came back to teach in this program -- and loves it. You might want to reconsider teaching....

[Anwyn]

The Sox thing was odd--shortly after I posted my comment, the words "revisionist history" came up with a link on them to a book at Amazon about the Red Sox, I think. Then it disappeared.

[Anne]

Anwyn, That IS odd! Since I really did read the book Why Gender Matters and wrote a review recommending it on Amazon long ago, I thought I would try that Amazon QuickLink Widget and see if I could make ten cents. I guess with all my technological savvy I did something to let Amazon come in and try to sell my visitors irrelevant products. Hmmm.

Hope that was a one-time-only thing.

Thanks for letting me know!