Hi Sheila,
 
SK> respect to PMFJI....I can't decipher that one...
 
Oops!  PMFJI "Pardon Me For Jumping In..." I usually use it as a 
courtesy when I reply to a message not originally sent to me :)
 
SK> an exactly _normal_ life). However, is it necessary to teach student
SK> be comfortable in a co-ed situation in every course they take in ord
SK> for them to function as a normal adult? With examples such as P.E.
SK> classes, the sewing classes and woodshop classes of yesteryear, I'd 
SK> "no". I would guess that the more integrated situations the kids can
SK> handle successfully, the better.
 
Probably not, but as you suggest, the more opportunities they have the 
better.  It's kind of funny in a way how we approach the P.E. classes, 
throughout elementary school we always had "recess" together, while not 
an organized gym class, boys and girls interacted and participated in a 
variety of activities with each other...I can personally remember one 
girl who was an incredible kick-ball player :)  When we entered junior 
high and the 7th grade, it was boys-gym and girls-gym.  We could see 
the girls on the other fields playing soccer just as we were, only we 
didn't play together.  In senior high, there was a mix, depending on 
the activity -- essentially the contact type sports were kept separate, 
but the other activities were coed.  Hehehe personally I *never* agreed 
with the Home Ec/Wood Shop business!  My mom taught me how to 
sew/cook/do dishes/knit/do laundry etc when I was about 10, at the same 
time I was learning how to run my grandpa's band saw/lathe/drill press 
and other power tools.  I played the "good student role" and took the 
gender specific classes my counselor told me I "needed" to take...but 
it wouldn't have hurt my feelings to have participated in the others. 
I'm 34 now, so that will give you a sense of the time period I'm 
referring to.  Fortunately alot of those role expectation type 
limitations are no longer present in the schools. (reminds me to start 
a thread on the Trollwood Performing Arts School in Fargo ND - an 
excellent educational experience)
 
SK> If young girls are apt to opt out of math and science careers, becau
SK> in a coed setting they are less likely to pursue math and science
SK> careers, maybe it would be appropriate to have a year or two of
SK> girls-only math, just until they begin to feel comfortable enough wi
SK> the subject area, and then bring the guys in? (This really isn't som
 
Hmmm, that's interesting -- I'd not heard of this before.
 
SK> issue that I feel strongly about, and personally I was never affecte
SK> the guys in my class to perform to a lower standard. I don't really
SK> understand why some girls apparently choose to do so, but according 
SK> certain studies, this is the case. I just thought that the article t
SK> I crossposted to this echo to start the thread was pretty interesti
 
It's interesting as I look at my girls (I have 4) and all are either A 
or A/B honor roll students, they don't seem to be bothere much at all by
the boys in their classes.  Too, being Air Force family members 
(dependents is no longer politically correct!) the are used to moving 
every three years or so, I think the ability to cope with that, helps 
them succeed in the variety of classroom situations they've been in.  
It's really quite interesting too, we've been in some of the best public
schools in the country (my personal, biased opinion) [the schools here 
in ND] and in some of the more "challenged" public schools -- those in 
Guam for example (gee another topic for a thread) and the kids have 
consistently done very well regardless of where they've been.
 
I just started bringing this echo into my BBS, so I missed the post you 
mention -- the one that started this thread. If you still have it, I'd 
be interested in reading it.  You could netmail/email it to me if you'd
rather not post it again.  
 
SK> strive to teach these types of social skills. Just out of curiousity
SK> what about instructors who themselves feel awkward in social situtio
SK> who don't get on well with the opposite sex and so forth? I wonder i
 
ahhh, yes that's a definite challenge. I've been exposed to other 
instructors who didn't deal well with the opposite sex in the training
environment and it wasn't real pretty.  In two situations we ended up 
calling in professional counselors to help the instructor and student 
come to grips with the situations.  Most others that I've been 
connected to have been dealt with in the more predictable manner -- IST 
(in-service training) focused on how to cope with these 
situations...lots of role playing.  Some tune out from the beginning, 
others particpate and are eager to learn.
 
SK> you might start a thread in which you share some of your ideas for
SK> activities of this type, and please, not the one about someone jumpi
SK> off a table and the other people in the class have to catch them and
SK> hold them up. I WON'T do that and would never recommend to anyone el
SK> that they do so either.
 
I'll have to do that! Hehehe yes, that particular exercise is a risky 
one at that, more from a safety point of view than any other.  I have 
some neat exercises that I've either used or had to participate in...I 
will share them in another post later this weekend.
 
SK> anything that extreme. A year or three of single-sex math is hardly
SK> going to create a problem like that in a co-ed school where kids are
SK> taking other classes that are gender-integrated.
 
True enough, a few single-sex classes in a co-ed school *is* different,
than if they were conducted exclusively in a single-sex school. I 
personally have difficulty seeing the benefit of either.  Perhaps after 
reading the article you mention I may better understand the arguement 
for the single-sex classroom.
 
Thanks,
 
    Dale
 
email:    dhill@badlands.nodak.edu
          captain.scarlet@spectrumbbs.com
 
FIDO:     1:2808/1
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