Co-Ed Versus Single Sex Schools

Essay by EssaySwap ContributorCollege, Undergraduate February 2008

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Do boys in the classroom hinder a girl?s learning process? Is she paying more attention to how her make-up looks than how to solve the next math problem? These are the types of questions raised in the debate between co-educational and single-sex schools. Attending both a co-educational and single-sex schools throughout my academic life, one can begin to see the differences and similarities between the two. There has long been a dilemma for parents over which type of education to chose for their child. In many ways, these two environments differ, but they are also similar in some ways.

Just because the population in co-educational school and single-sex schools is different, all schools practice a similar common curriculum. Whether you attend a co-educational school or a single-sex school, the quality of education stays pretty consistent throughout, depending on the specific school. Just because someone attends a single-sex school, their social life and participation in extra-curricular activities is very similar to that of co-educational schools. Even though an all-girls? school might not have their own football team, they often pair up with all-boys? school in order to participate through a brother school. Weekend and after-school activities remain constant whether someone attends a co-educational or single-sex school.

There are many extreme differences between the two types of schools. It has long been believed that girls can flourish in an all-girls environment because they don?t have to be self-conscious about answering questions in front of boys. The same thing goes for boys, who don?t feel the need to show off in order to impress all the girls. In single-sex schools, the students can feel more comfortable with themselves and more confident about their academic achievements. In some instances, single-sex education is seen as superior to...