Hi Dave,
-> There must be a rather large forum of discussion regarding single sex
-> classes. Is there?
I'm not sure exactly what you mean by "forum"? Do you mean that this is
a big current topic in educational circles (I think that's what you
mean and will answer on that assumption)?
I think that in the last 5 or so years this topic has received increased
attention. I've seen a few articles on it in the L.A. Times over the
last few years, and I don't even take the daily paper. I've heard more
about it and seen more about it in electronic discussion forums and in
printed periodicals for educators.
-> Or is this another reform based on a single issue or anecdotal
-> observation?
I've not researched the topic, but I understand it to be based on
research. Mind you, annecdotal observation isn't wholly bad. That's got
to be the place where most persons even come up with the idea to try
some particular research topic. However, basing disctrict wide reform on
annecdotal observation doesn't seem too wise.
I know there have been studies done on achievement for girls in math and
science in single sex classrooms, showing that the girls increased their
performance. There have also been studies done on young (elementary or
primary aged), black, male students where having them in a single sex
classroom particularly with a male instructor improved their
performance. I read about these in passing in some printed periodical or
other (the latter one above I believe I read about in the L.A. Times a
few years back). I can't quote authors and dates, however.
-> IMHO (based on the one or two  TV programs I've seen on the subject)
-> the advntages of single sex education can improve the education
-> process.
I haven't formed a conclusive opinion on the matter, but from what I've
read it does sound promising and is certainly worth further attention.
It may well bring improvements in performance certain students.
-> Part of the claim to success seems to be eliminating distractions.
-> seems to me that this can be done for mixed classes without hAving to
-> segregate the sexes.
Hmm. Well, there probably are individuals for whom their performance
would not change, whether in a single-sex of co-ed classroom. But there
are students for whom this is a big distractor. Adolesence is not only a
time of hormonal imbalance, but also a time when young people are
learning social conventions and learning about themselves, their own
self-concept and how they relate to others. You can't expect kids in a
classroom to just automatically stop thinking about things things in a
classroom and focus on the course subject matter without giving another
thought to the other persons in the room. And if the opposite sex is on
a kid's mind, I can see where removing persons of that sex from the room
might very well take some of the distractions away and enable them to
devote more of their attention to the subject matter at hand. I can
clearly remember in 10th and 11th grades (ages 15-16) spending
considerable amount of class time in certain classes thinking about
boys. Granted, these weren't the most exciting classes. I know there are
certain instructional techniques that teachers can use to engage
students more actively in learning, and this might help the students to
ignore some of these gender-distractor issues. But shouldn't we use all
the weapons in our arsenal to get the best instruction possible and best
performance for our students? Certainly teachers should try to use the
most engaging instructional methods they can, but also if we can gain an
even bigger advantage by employing single sex classes in some
situations, then why not do it?
-> In light of the recent court rulings the all same sex colleges are
-> having a real problem with funding and are concerned in part because
-> their existance is threatened. I don't see the same threat to K-12
-> schools.
Yeah, I don't understand the legal issues that well. It doesn't interest
me as much to pursue that part of the picture, but it does seem to me
that we could make a valid argument for allow, say, a girls-only algebra
class in the high schools in such a way that the courts would allow it.
-> girls and boys must learn to work together in preparation for a coed
-> world.
-> Damned if you do damned if you don't. :-)
Some schools are offering single subject sections for certain courses
only (such as girls-only math or science). Also, I believe the co-ed
course is still available in those schools for those girls who choose to
take it. (Now that I think about it, though, those co-ed classes would
tend to have an awful lot of boys as compared to girls by virtue of the
fact that some of the girls are in the single-sex classes.)
-> hormones," writes the magazine.  NEWSWEEK:  "Impressing the
-> opposite sex is a 14-year-old's reason for being.  Take away that
-> pressure, and miracles happen."
-> At what age does it stop being the the reason?
I would think that by the time one matures to adulthood (and we all know
that some of us never make it mentally/psychologically!), and has a
better handle on their own identity and how they relate to others, that
this would play a less prominent role.
Sheila
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