Regular public schools are suffering under the yolk of an increasing number of problems today, damaging the quality of education offered to our students and their possibilities for the future. Overcrowded classrooms, lack of funding and resources, student poverty and hunger, lack of parental involvement and increasing student behavioral problems grow worse every year. Violence in school highways is out of control.Â
Many parents who have the resources or access are choosing alternatives to traditional public schools for their children. Home schooling, charter schools, private schools, and parochial schools have increasing enrollment every year. But there are some experts who believe that even these more controlled, enriching environments aren't enough to address all of the issues that challenge educators, parents, and students. There are those who believe simply changing the school's environment or curriculum isn't enough.Â
Some experts believe that one instit utional custom practiced by many alternative schools may have gained more relevance than ever: single gender education. Most often, single gender education takes place in separate schools, but in others, they are simply taught in different classrooms, like the common divisions for gym class in public school. Either situation, according to advocates, offers these examples in favor of single gender learning:
1. A number of parents and educators posit that for some students, studying with the opposite sex can be distracting, especially in pre-teen and teen years.Â
2. There is research that indicates girls and boys learn differently, and teachers appropriately trained in single gender education know how to use special methods to maximize learning for their students.
3.
Experts that advocate single gender education say that co-educational schools tend to reinforce sexual stereotypes, due to educators being less able to deal with boys or girls as individuals and take their different needs and learning styles into account. Single sex schools are supposedly able to address educational issues that traditionally plague each gender, such as girls having trouble in math and science, and boys being taught in more customarily "feminine" areas. Conversely, girls are less likely to feel pressure to act "dumb" to impress boys, and boys to act in a less hyper-masculine manner when not showing off for girls.4. In some studies, more children who attend single-sex schools reported feeling happy and comfortable with themselves and their peers than those in coed institutions.Â
5. In countries where single sex education has been the tradition for many years, students tend to score higher on standardized tests than their co-ed counterparts.
Not every child will benefit from studying solely with their own gender. However, an increasing number of researchers, educators, and parents have begun to believe that separating boys and girls for education is the best way to ensure the best learning environment. There are other details to be taken into account besides simply whether or not children should be separated by gender, however. For example, the law ensures that single-gender education is a choice, not compulsory. Teacher training geared toward particular genders is vital, as traditional teaching methods are not going to be effective in this specialized environment.
There is much to be learned from colleges and traditional institutions that have been single gender settings, allowing administrators who desire such and environment to offer the highest quality education for families who choose such a setting and take advantage of the positive rewards it offers their children. While education in general continues t o deteriorate in much of the public sector, increasing research, development, and investment in both public and alternative education benefits everyone. Our country's future depends on a well-educated population to remain competitive in a global, high-tech economy.
Latest Articles on EzineMark.com
Tidak ada komentar:
Posting Komentar