Victoria Avaricio
In his best-selling book, Girls Should Not Apply, Patrick James argues against high school
co-education, proffering the idea that at the most impressionable time in a young person’s
development, boys and girls should share their school experiences with people of the same
mindset and gender. “Since boys have much more in common with one another, and girls
possess mostly the same likes and dislikes, single gender education will help teenagers
learn their proper social, familial and professional roles.” In short, James asserts, “boys
must learn to be men, girls to be women.”
Education is, without a doubt, crucial for developing an intelligent and advanced
society. It is an opportunity to find passions, discover new ideas, and meet a network of people
in the same position of learning. Co-education values and sets a perfect environment for those
conditions. Co-education provides a more realistic way of training young people to take their
places in a large community of men and women, and it helps in breaking down gender
stereotypes and misconceptions. Moreover, it provides an excellent foundation for the
development of meaningful relationships later in life.
Modern society is a mixed environment filled with all types of people. Occupations are
no longer inclined for one gender and one gender only. It will be a shock for an adolescent, who
has been to school with only one gender, to enter a working world filled with different types of
people with different ideas. As a student in a co-ed school, I would much rather collaborate
with both men and women in my early stages of education, as I find it a way to gain a fresh
perspective from other people intellectually. The whole purpose of education is to intake as
much knowledge as possible for one’s near future; it is not only inclined to reading textbooks
and taking tests. Being a well educated person also means having a good attitude on respecting
other people’s opinions, and being able to cooperate and interact with people unlike yourself.
When working with both my female and male partners on a history project, we at first did not
agree on our opinions and how the project would proceed. However, after being able to
communicate properly (discussing our different viewpoints while being respectful), we came to
a compromise and worked together to successfully complete the project with an outstanding
grade of 95%. Co-education has allowed me and my fellow classmates to collaborate with one
another in an efficient manner, which will surely help us in our future occupations. A co-ed
environment has clearly and evidently promoted healthy student relationships and fostered
effective learning.
A society without co-ed will not only defer and harm the learning process for many, it
will most likely misconstrue the roles of certain genders. Children and adolescents are strongly
affected when their surrounding environment explicitly shows gender divisions. There are
plenty of long term effects of gender stereotyping on school infrastructure and curriculum,
segregating boys and girls in the classroom setting. Single sex schools are more likely to
exaggerate and encourage sex stereotypes by accentuating aggression among boys, passivity
among girls, or by simply assuming one gender is more skilled in one subject over another (i.e
boys are better at math, while girls are better at writing.) It would cause detrimental effects on
students because it deprives students of their true interests and passions. It would be wrong to
assume gender roles, as all individuals are different and generalizations will not make an
advanced and intelligent society. The quote by Stephen. R Covey, “Strength lies in differences,
not similarities”, proves that diversity will only benefit while segregation will only harm. In
our modern world, it should be realized that humans are all different with unlike strengths,
weaknesses, and interests. Single sex schools only make assumptions of who is interested in
what. Conclusively, co-education allows the diversity and embrace for students to follow their
true interests and passions.
School is supposed to be a safe place not only to learn scholarly information, but to
practice social skills and respect as well. As a student from a co-ed school, I have seen firsthand
how collaborating with both males and females benefits my attitude and others’ in a work
setting. Learning in a co-ed environment will allow young students to be able to excel in their
future careers. In contrast, attending single sex schools will only emphasize gender
stereotypes, causing roadblocks on a student’s true passions. Assumptions and generalizations
of a student’s mind will only cause detrimental effects. Although some may say that co-ed
schools will be a distraction, especially during adolescence, it will actually be the opposite.
Students will learn to mature and respect one another more so, understanding how to control
their feelings and thoughts and knowing what settings will be appropriate. An institution’s
priority is to establish a safe environment for learning, while teaching the most important
skills for the future, not to disconnect and polarize. Co-education provides that safe
environment.
