Topical Teaching

I am glad that I teach both boys and girls in my Grade 5 classroom.  I find it more challenging and the social dynamic can be quite fascinating.  However, for a while now, there has been a groundswell of support for single-sex classrooms.  People believe that they are more beneficial for students.

GIRLS can be “marginalised” and often take a back seat to boys in co-educational classrooms, the head of one of WA’s most elite all-girl schools says.

Methodist Ladies’ College principal Rebecca Cody has reignited the single-sex school debate, saying the “female voice is more likely to be marginalised” in mixed-sex classrooms.

Her comments come amid calls for the state’s public students to be given the choice of single-sex education.

All WA public schools are co-ed.

Writing for the next edition of Whichschool? Magazine Ms Cody said there were many “positive academic, attitudinal and social effects of a single-sex education.

“For example, higher levels of engagement, improved achievement and behaviour are just a few of the notable outcomes.

“Similarly, in this context girls are more likely to excel in non-traditional disciplines such as science, technology and mathematics and without the presence of boys feel more empowered to take responsible risks, for example in outdoor education.

“In a mixed-classroom environment, the female voice is more likely to be marginalised as girls tend to take a back seat, allowing boys to speak up. A girls’ school allows students to relax and interact more readily.”

It has not been my experienced that the boys marginalise the girls in a mixed-classroom.  I do however think it is vital for teachers of such schools to do their utmost to ensure that the social dynamic in their classroom is healthy and that all students have the opportunity to express themselves as individuals.