ODYSSEYWARE

There’s a new debate brewing all over America. How do you close the gender gap without promoting gender stereotyping, and is segregation by gender a viable option?

A recent article in Forbes Woman explores Foley Intermediate School in Foley, Alabama, where a gender-based experiment is taking place. The parents of fifth and sixth grade students have an option of placing their children into all-girl, all-boy, or mixed-gender classes.

The classroom environments reflect biological differences in boys and girls, and inside the classrooms the activity is startlingly different. According to the article, children are allowed to move around in the boys’ classroom, which is painted a cool blue. Some do, while others listen to lessons from the floor. In stark contrast, the girls’ classroom is brightly painted, and students sit at their desks and work in collaborative groups. The girls’ class meets weekly to talk through interpersonal issues to curb cattiness.

While this model is still relatively rare in the United States, The National Association for Single Sex Public Education estimates that in 2010 more than 400 mixed-gender schools offered single-sex classes.

While many of these programs show significant improvements in test scores for students in gender-based classrooms, the reasons for this are not so easy to pinpoint. Many of the boys that scored proficient when tested were previously labeled ADHD or ESE in coed classes. Generally speaking, students were learning the same curriculum in the same school.

Biology plays some part, according to experts, who assert that different regions of the brain develop in a different sequence. The decreased interpersonal pressure may also play a part, as well as other variables.

Evidence even exists that placing children in gender-specific classroom goes a long way in erasing gender bias, as both boys and girls get the instruction they need in a way that supports their learning. The old adage, “Girls mature faster,” may soon be followed by, “in some areas.”

In light of the success and the research, it’s hard to discount the possibility as an option, especially for boys, who tend not to fit the restrictive environment or the expectations of a today’s mixed-gender classroom.

Online curriculum is one option to address the “gender issue” is today’s schools. Students working on ODYSSEYWARE lessons can study at their own pace and in their own way. Internet options allow both boys and girls to explore websites that may support their learning styles as they work their way toward academic achievement.