Single or Co-ed: Does It Matter?

You always think of a normal school being made up of teachers and students with boys and girls of some sort.

In fact, it is true for most cases like co-educational schools. However, some schools have chosen another approach by designing education for just one gender, also known as single sex schools. Some people may consider going to a single sexed school as lonely since they might not have anyone be interested in or students may call it having a “crush”. As everyone has different learning strategies, single sex schools are specially made for one gender which help us learn to our maximum potential and erase gender stereotypical thoughts from the our minds. Of course, different genders have very different learning styles. Having a co-ed school will have to design an education program that is closest to the learning abilities of both genders but this may affect the student’s learning strategies.

An Australian study of 270,000 students found that both boys and girls performed significantly higher on standardized tests when they attended gender-specific schools. The school was able to tailor a unique learning style for their students. Have you ever did significantly better on a project you are interested in than a project that is not anywhere near your interest? Of course, every student wishes that their next project will get easier and easier but I don’t think it works that way. The only “better” thing you can hope is the next project being more interesting than just your average five paragraph essay about the Renaissance or something. From my experience, gender specific schools make work appeal more to everyone in the class.

If students clearly see how coursework connects to their goals, interests, and concerns, they will be more likely to value it, and thus more motivated to invest time and effort.While it is true that we are all different, there is no one school that is perfect for all kids, but there is no doubt that single-sex schools offer a great deal of advantages and a special atmosphere that encourages kids to feel comfortable in. Learning at a single-sex school will help us refresh our minds about gender stereotypes. In a single sex school, that gender will fill all of the school’s roles without complaining that the role was designated to the opposite gender. There will be no stereotypes which roles boys or girls should fill and one certain gender will do all of the roles. For an example, But why is that? If baking cookies is needed in a single sex school for boys, boys will still have to do it.

But when it comes to baking or cookies we assume it is for just girls? We assume actions with everything we see around us. We would see more pictures of cute little girls pushing around a wagon of cookies while we see less boys doing the same action. Having single sex schools will train us from a young age that both male and female can be a major leader and can work on the same job. However, major industries right now are still mostly run and founded by men. Although we are trying to cut down our stereotype, it is still lurking out there. Once we are able to establish this understanding, we will have ideas and opinions from both side and agree with the best.

You may say that there is no interaction between the two genders for their students. You don’t experience the “young love” that other students of co-ed schools would experience when they are in middle school or early high school.Although this may be true, a study has shown that almost 90% of the high school girls from co-ed schools get sexually harassed whether it is on social media or direct! Once you get influenced at school, you might be mentally unstable and will affect your learning abilities. Yes, it is true that school should be a place where people feel included in the community. Yes, it is true that besides learning students will be able to meet different types of people coming from a diverse background but that might not be best for all students.

Being at an atmosphere that encounters negative influence strongly affect the student’s self-esteem will largely affect the student’s performance later in their life. Being at a place surrounded by people who respect you for who you are is critical for building confidence in the public and and your career. Your education is dependent on the school that you are learning at and their environment. Your school’s environment and students impacts your self esteem and and public confidence so the next time you change school, also think what type of school do you want rather than which schools are better.