Why single-sex schools are bad for your health . . . (if you're a boy)

[Gaze]

Could you satisfy my curiousity and elaborate on the bolded sentence?

I guess it's pretty much as I said earlier, that when you have a skewed or romanticized image of the opposite sex, and you don't have any coed interaction in school, and little outside of school, along with reading too many romance novels , you develop unrealistic expectations. I've also seen other woman, from where we're from, go through the single sex education system, get married, and experienced not so great relationships because of this gender stereotyping or misconceptions about gender and sex. because of being too sheltered. I think I was taught, especially by family, to fear boys, to be wary of them, and I was also just a tad bit overprotected, so I left that environment, not being very socially savvy, so it took me a while to sort things out and gain a more balanced perspective.

 

[not sure]

I guess it's pretty much as I said earlier, that when you have a skewed or romanticized image of the opposite sex, and you don't have any coed interaction in school, and little outside of school, along with reading too many romance novels , you develop unrealistic expectations. I've also seen other woman, from where we're from, go through the single sex education system, get married, and experienced not so great relationships because of this gender stereotyping or misconceptions about gender and sex. because of being too sheltered. I think I was taught, especially by family, to fear boys, to be wary of them, and I was also just a tad bit overprotected, so I left that environment, not being very socially savvy, so it took me a while to sort things out and gain a more balanced perspective.

I just wonder if the trouble these women had in their relationships are traceable to the single-sex education. I think generally in our culture gender stereotyping is taken to an extreme and most relationships struggle because of it. Most people here receive a coed education and it seems to me the general state of affairs between men and women is dismal. Everyone seems to be manipulating everyone else and forcing each other to fit a mold. Don't you think it has more to do with our curious blend of victorian sensibility and hedonism than anything else?

 

[not sure]

I also didn't get a chance to wear the single piece uniform you guys were lucky enough to wear. . I'm glad you're bringing some perspective to this.

@AlienSpectator

Lucky? You call that lucky. That blasted uniform made me look pregnant for 3 out of my 7 years. The conductress uniform was horrible too. I was part of the group advocating the "Facts of Life" uniform. They are actually wearing something closer to that now.

 

[aeon]

Everyone seems to be manipulating everyone else and forcing each other to fit a mold. Don't you think it has more to do with our curious blend of victorian sensibility and hedonism than anything else?

My sense is those things are part of the behaviors, but I think there are others as well, and others that may be significant. Consider that some will take a reactionary stance as it concerns roles when they experience a cultural shift that lessens the meanings of, and devalues, those roles.

My sense is it is part of the tug-of-war that is traditionalism versus social liberalism. Neither is any more right or wrong than the other, save from an individual perspective. Sadly, people get trampled underfoot in that tug-of-war.

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Perhaps one thing to consider is what can be done about achieving equity in a coed environment. Why do girls select science and math less often in that environment, when metrics indicate they have equal potential?

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All my schooling was coed.


cheers,
Ian

 

[Gaze]

I just wonder if the trouble these women had in their relationships are traceable to the single-sex education. I think generally in our culture gender stereotyping is taken to an extreme and most relationships struggle because of it. Most people here receive a coed education and it seems to me the general state of affairs between men and women is dismal. Everyone seems to be manipulating everyone else and forcing each other to fit a mold. Don't you think it has more to do with our curious blend of victorian sensibility and hedonism than anything else?

I see what you're saying, that the problem is not the gender separation in schools, but the overall cultural beliefs we've adopted. And I agree to some extent. You're right, that we took the Victorians far too seriously , and adopted too conservative a view of gender and allowed it to guide us for too long. And again, I don't necessarily believe that coed institutions are paragons of success and virtue either. It's six of one and half a dozen. So, I don't see it as one is better than the other. I think there are benefits to both, which is why I think that for single sex education to be effective and successful, it must incorporate coed socialization more so that both sexes learn how to interact and relate in as well as outside the classroom.

 

[not sure]

Perhaps one thing to consider is what can be done about achieving equity in a coed environment. Why do girls select science and math less often in that environment, when metrics indicate they have equal potential?

I can only speak for my own experience. I did attend all-girls school but did some other courses at a coed school because of timetable issues. Girls select science and math less often because they are ignored in class, as simple as that. Also, when they make errors there seems to be more snickering. If they do well they are called nerds as opposed to smart by the other students. In our schools there is a system of streaming students into sciences, arts and business. Boys are actively encouraged to follow the science or business stream while girls are not unless they are in single-sex school. They aren't discouraged just not encouraged. I think the gender stereotypes have all ready been set and their own peers reinforce them.

 

[Gaze]

I can only speak for my own experience. I did attend all-girls school but did some other courses at a coed school because of timetable issues. Girls select science and math less often because they are ignored in class, as simple as that. Also, when they make errors there seems to be more snickering. If they do well they are called nerds as opposed to smart by the other students. In our schools there is a system of streaming students into sciences, arts and business. Boys are actively encouraged to follow the science or business stream while girls are not unless they are in single-sex school. They aren't discouraged just not encouraged. I think the gender stereotypes have all ready been set and their own peers reinforce them.

yeah, this is usually the reason. The girls were often more self conscious about their responses in the coed classroom, and would be judged more harshly for their responses. And it was assumed the guys would naturally do better in math, while the girls would have to prove themselves. Girls who were good at math were treated as anomalies.

 

[Gaze]

returning to the effects on single sex male education . . .

The research also reveals that men taught in boys' schools are more likely to suffer from "a sense of malaise" or depression by their early 40s – possibly as a result of relationship breakdown.

Maybe the lack of interaction early makes them frustrated in more ways than one, so that when they do leave that environment and enter the real world or work and relationships, there's a sense of uncertainty about what to expect or what's reasonable to expect, or coupledom is not what they anticipated it to be; or they feel unprepared to deal with the issues they face.

Men were also more likely to have spoken of a "dislike" for their school days if taught in a male-dominated environment.

Yeah, probably because of the sense of feeling repressed or sometimes excessive restrictions or discipline. Testosterone overload perhaps?

However, there was no difference in the likelihood of marital breakdown between girls brought up in single-sex schools and those taught in a mixed-sex environment.

Because woman were taught to be faithful, and are seen as relationship and family oriented, regardless of their situation. The belief is that women are more likely to focus on seeking to maintain relationships over the long term, even if the couple faces serious marital difficulties - the belief that they are responsible for staying committed and the societal expectation, especially as mothers, to making it work whatever the circumstances is strong, is often hardwired into our thinking earlier on.