Single-gender classes in plans for some York, Fort Mill students
By Adam MacInnis Enquirer-Herald
"Jefferson Elementary School in York will test the water this fall on a program that will separate fifth grade boys and girls. Jefferson will start two single-gender , fifth-grade classrooms in hopes of fostering a better learning environment."
"Studies found boys and girls see, hear, and react to their environment differently, so it makes sense they learn differently, advocates of single-gender classrooms say. By targeting the different learning styles, students tend to perform better, studies have shown."
"Separating students by gender lets teachers target their different learning styles, said Principal Jane Wallace."
"Boys appear to do better in a classroom where they can compete, whereas girls are better off with less stress and more social interaction, she said. Boys also tend to perform better when their seats are in rows and they have a partner beside them. Girls prefer being grouped in circles or in U- shapes where they can look at each other, Wallace said."
"We've learned a lot from the research, like boys learn better with a lot of motion, when the teacher is moving around a lot, but for girls, emotion is more important and a lot of movement is distracting, Fort Mill Middle School Principal Tommy Schnolze said. They even learn better at different temperatures: 69 deprees is optimal for boys, 75 degrees is optimal for girls."
It was very surprising to find this article in The Herald on Friday, April 11, promoting single gender education in the local schools. The research on gender differences is rather interesting and has merit with some interesting ideas. A teacher in a mixed gender classroom could use the research to improve teaching methods and also to vary teaching methods during the day.
David Wybenga
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I found this post to be encouraging. After seeing the statistics of drop-out rates and violence in schools, it is nice to hear that people are willing to experiment instead of just creating more legislation on top of the old. The concept of separating genders isn't a new idea of course, this often was the case in parochial schools and universities such as our own. The reasons were just a little different. I still like the idea of keeping the options open.
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