FREE ESSAY ON ARGUMETATIVE SINGLE GENDER SCHOOLING

ARGUMETATIVE SINGLE GENDER SCHOOLING

Single Gender Schooling: A better learning environment
For years, educators have searched for better and more effective ways of teaching. Their
efforts have resulted in the specialization of instruction according to the specific
needs of different students. We have seen therefore, specific classes for dyslexic
children, special instruction for visual learners, teaching methods, which target
non-native English speaker's etc. At a more basic level however, the separation of our
educational efforts by gender, has proven to be controversial at best. I believe that
grouping young students according to sex, provides a better learning environment and is
more conducive to group cohesiveness. In fact, every student ought to have the
opportunity to enroll in a single gender school. 
First and foremost, there seems to be less distraction while learning in a single gender
environment. We presently notice that many junior high school and mostly high school
adolescents choose to wear what they wear because they want the opposite sex to notice
them. We see talk shows everyday where a teenager explains that he/she dresses the way
they do so they can be noticed and admired. He/she worries on aspects that have nothing
to do with school, while at school. A majority of students "dress to impress." He/she
does this in order to be popular, yet another aspect useless in a learning environment.
Students seem to be at school to socialize with the opposite gender. While in a single
gender school, dress attire seems to be unimportant because there is no one to impress.
He/she thinks that since the opposite sex is there, it is the perfect time to have
girlfriends or boyfriends and ask or be asked out on dates. This would be impossible at
single gender schooling. Single sex schools allows a student to focus more at the task at
hand, which is learning. 
When playing on any sort of sports team, the team must form cohesiveness in order to
function as a whole. Attending a single gender school promotes cohesiveness. They all
work together to form sort of a brotherhood/sister hood feeling. Students in a single sex
school during young adulthood learn to trust each other and cooperate with each other
instead of compete. They want to help each other out in any way that they can. There is
no competitiveness in order to show the opposite sex that one is better than the other
is. Being at a single gender school doesn't single out socialization, but it becomes less
common, thus leaving the socialization activities where they belong: outside of school.
Bonding in a similar characteristic atmosphere allows one to establish the foundation for
a long lasting friendship because one goes through trials and tribulations together
during the natural formative years. These serve as a contributing bonding factor thus
making schoolmates feel like family. Studies have shown that a common enemy serves as a
bonding factor also. The enemy at a school is the school itself and it becomes easier to
talk about school related situations because mostly everyone is experiencing the same
situations. There is so much pressure when one attends school and it makes it a lot
easier when one can talk to a sister or brother figure regarding his/her problems.
It is common, in this day and age, to be in a support group. People are in support groups
because they need someone to talk to. There are support groups for many aspects of life.
These include woman support groups, alcohol deterrence support groups, and abuse support
groups to name a few. The people who join these support groups have something in common
with each other. I believe that he/she is in the same situation when he/she is in a
single sex school were all the people are the same gender as you and they are roughly
around the same age. The support comes from friends who like to talk about the opposite
sex and who are in the same class as you and don't understand what is going to be on the
test. Through talking with schoolmates, he/she realizes that they have many aspects in
common and when he/she is in doubt, can talk about difficult situations to a friend. Peer
counseling allows for guidance for an underclassman to speak with an upperclassman. The
upperclassman thus offers guidance through times of uncertainty and difficulty because
he/she has been through the same situations. Just like families work things out, same sex
schooling has the tendency to do the same.
I am an alumni of St. Augustine Catholic High School, the only catholic all boys high
school in San Diego County. I was fortunate enough to have gone and experienced, what I
thought a first rate learning and brotherhood experience. Furthermore, I had the
opportunity to experience summer school at a public coed school and was able to notice
the differences between the two. Unequivocally, I can say that the learning environment
was much better for me. My classmates, who I was able to form a strong friendship with,
would also support my belief.