This Issue:

Table of Contents

Cover Story

Cover Story - Spanish Version

Mini-Lesson

Comprehension Quiz

Teacher's Guide and Worksheets

Separated at School

Girls never speak up in Kienan Brito's class. When the teacher asks a question, only boys raise their hands. Why? It's a boys-only class! "It's fun being with all boys because we almost all like to do the same things," Kienan says.

Kienan, 9, is a third grader at Thurgood Marshall Elementary School, in Seattle, Washington. The school is one of only 93 public schools in the nation that has all boy students, all girls or classes that divide boys and girls.

A NEW KIND OF CLASSROOM

On March 9, the U.S. Secretary of Education, Rod Paige, introduced new rules. The government wants to make it easier for public-school districts to create separate classes and schools for boys and girls.

Right now, it is hard for districts to put boys and girls in different classes. A law called Title IX aims to give boys and girls an equal chance to learn. In the past, girls were not allowed to learn certain subjects, including math and science.

SEPARATE BUT EQUAL?

Some teachers say that kids are focused and better behaved when they learn separately. But critics fear that boys and girls won't learn to work together if they're in separate classes. Others warn that the changes might harm girls, because they won't learn side by side with boys.

Kienan's teacher, Brian Morefield, doesn't think so. "The girls at Thurgood Marshall are thriving," he told TFK last week, "while the boys have made much more modest improvements."

WHAT'S THE SCOOP?
Boys and girls have different ways of learning. Should they be in different classrooms? Explain.

Next: Double Discoveries