Is Single-sex Education Right for Your Child?

I went to a non-religious single sex school for kindergarten through ninth grade and then transfered to a co-ed school because its academic offerings were more in-line with my interests at the time. I would like to emphasize that this review addresses only K – 12 education, and that my opinions focus mostly on early education in this regard. I think at a certain age a child should have significant input int what type of learning environment is best for them.

Many recent studies indicate students may do better without the distraction of a co-ed environment, but I would like to disagree and urge you to raise your children in a co-ed world.

The real world is co-ed, and kids are going to have to learn to be around members of the opposite sex sooner or later. By exposing kids to a co-ed environment at an early age, they are less likely to think being in the same room as the opposite sex is incredibly distracting. They will also learn how to make friends of both genders, a skill that will help them later in life, and see the opposite as not so different from themselves.

Some current studies state that girls do better in math and science when not in the classroom with boys. I excelled in these areas going to a single-sex school, but discovered when I moved to a co-ed environment that the program at my school had been weak. Girls going to single-sex institutions risk technical classes being unnecessarily dumbed down to them. Similarly, boys face the possibility of getting less rigorous training in language arts and creative arts because they are not seen as masculine or subjects boys inherently excel at. It is my belief that a well rounded education requires a well rounded classroom. I would like to emphasize that I do not think all math and science programs at all-female institutions are weak, merely that this was my experience, and something I consider a risk in these institutions – this is just one more issue for parents reviewing a potential school for their child to consider – how does their program stack up against other schools?

Upon transferring to a co-ed school I felt socially inadequate – I did not know how to talk to boys or make friends with them, much less date and pursue a typical adolescence. In an effort to boost my confidence, a single-sex education isolated me from basic parts of life, and left me feeling inadequate when I had done nothing wrong, but just lacked certain basic experiences.

I think that single sex opportunities are important for both genders, but that spending time in a co-ed environment is critical. If you do decide to send your child to a single-sex school try to make sure they engage in after school activities that are mixed, so that their social education can remain well-rounded