Show 45: Excerpt - The Single-Sex Schooling Debate

In 2006, the US Department of Education wrote new regulations paving the way for single sex public schooling, and since then more than 500 public schools in the United States have implemented single sex schools or single sex classes within a coed school. The National Association for Single Sex Public Education lists them on its website; for Alaska – just one pops up, Gilson Junior High in Valdez...

This week and last week on Kids These Days!, we’ve been talking about adolescent boys and adolescent girls - what sort of challenges they face, how “teen-ager-hood” may have changed since today’s parents were themselves teenagers, and how boys and girls are different. Last week’s guest, Michael Gurian, believes there are fundamental biological and neurological differences that affect how boys and girls behave, what they need as they develop, and how they learn in school.

That view is shared by many who argue in favor of single sex schools or classes, not just in private schools, but in public schools as well. But not everyone agrees with the premise that girls and boys learn differently, or need different ways of teaching - some going so far as to call that kind of popular science “rubbish”.

Contributor Jessica Cochran looked at the controversy surrounding single sex public schools. Listen below...

• An overview of the issues from Public School Review

• National Organization for Women

• Many articles about single sex schools from Education.com

• Department of Education Review of academic literature on single sex schools

• Article by Elena Silva: Boy and Girls Are More Alike in School Than They Are Different

• The Trouble With Single Sex Schools - The Atlantic Monthly

• National Association for Single Sex Public Education

• The Truth About Boys and Girls - Rosalind Barnett’s new book