Since last fall, not one boy has raised his hand in Maritza De La Pena's sixth-grade class. And during discussions, boys never speak up. Why not? Because it's a girls-only class!
Whittier Middle School is one of nine public middle schools in the San Antonio, Texas, school district that offers single-gender education. Both boys and girls go to Whittier, and the seventh-and eighth-grade students are in mixed classes. All but one group of the sixth graders are in boys-or girls-only classes.
Maritza, 11, says that she notices a big change in her classmates. "Boys want to compete and answer first," Maritza told TFK. "Girls would be quiet. Now, we're not quiet."
A UNIQUE KIND OF CLASSROOM
Ninety-three public schools in the U.S. have either all boy students, all girl students or some single-gender classes. There is not a lot of research on the topic, but there is some evidence that single-gender learning can help improve school performance. Teachers say kids are more focused and better behaved.
On March 9, U.S. Secretary of Education Rod Paige proposed regulations that would make it easier for public-school districts to create single-gender classrooms and schools. Right now, a federal law called Title IX applies strict rules on single-gender schooling.
The new proposals would relax the rules. Public schools could create single-gender classes simply to provide more learning options, or because their community wants such classes. And they wouldn't have to create identical programs for boys and girls.
Some critics fear that boys and girls won't learn to get along if they're separated. Others warn that the new rules violate Title IX and could lead to discrimination against girls in the classroom. "The concern we have is that it will endanger the gains that girls and women have made over the last 30 years," says Jocelyn Samuels of the National Women's Law Center.
But one supporter, Leonard Sax, a family physician and psychologist, says it comes down to "basic science." A boy's brain develops differently from a girl's, and the distinctions cause each to learn in different ways. Sax is the executive director of the National Association of Single Sex Public Education. His group trained San Antonio's teachers and principals in single-sex learning.
SO FAR, SO GOOD IN SAN ANTONIO
Peggy Stark is San Antonio's assistant superintendent of special programs. She has already heard from happy teachers in the single-sex program. "They can see real differences in the way girls respond in math and science," she says. When the school year ends, San Antonio officials will study the single-gender students' records on attendance, discipline and academic performance. They will survey teachers, parents and students to see how well the program is working.Are single-gender classes better? That may depend on what you want to learn. Whittier sixth-grader John Mireles, 11, would prefer a mixed class. "When it's mixed," he says, "you can learn more about the girls."
THINK!
Boys and girls may learn differently, but that mean that
they should learn separately?
What Is Title IX?
In 1972, Congress passed Title IX, a federal law that prohibits
discrimination based on gender in schools that receive government
funds.
Before Title IX, women and girls were treated unequally in most schools. Many colleges limited the number of women who could attend, and few offered women athletic scholarships. In high schools, girls were discouraged from studying such subjects as math and science. Title IX was intended to ensure that girls have the same opportunities as boys, in the classroom and on the playing field.
Today, supporters point to Title IX's successes. In 1971, only 18% of U.S. women completed college. Now, there are more women than men in U.S. colleges. Fewer than 30,000 women participated in college sports in 1972. By 2003, some 160,000 college women were competing.
Colleges must follow rules to show they offer equality in women's and men's sports. Opponents of Title IX say some successful men's teams have been eliminated by schools trying to keep things equal.