Same-Sex School Update: How Are Same-Gender Schools Doing?

Alive And Well

Same-sex schools were far and few between just a few years ago. A few generations ago, academies for boys or girls were popular. They were boarding schools where the wealthy sent their children for a good education. The families could travel around the world knowing their child was safe and sound. While the academic results were good, many girls and boys colleges are closing their doors. Boarding schools are shrinking, as well.

However, the number of same-sex schools is growing tremendously with No Child Left Behind permission. Some say that these schools are educational explosions. The formats vary. Some variations are

●      Only boys in the building

●      Only girls in the building

●      Boys and girls in the same building but in separate classrooms

●      Boys and girls in the same building and together for some classes but divided for others

Growing Pains

Just like any new idea that goes against the grain of the status quo, same-sex schools are having some adjustment problems. Cincinnati schools are adjusting well.

Cincinnati Schools

Cincinnati is one school district that has made the change to same-gender education. One school, Withrow High, was divided into two smaller schools. Making schools smaller has experienced great success in New York City. Withrow had a graduation rate of 60 percent in 2002. Withrow split students into genders and has become one of Cincinnati’s highest achieving high schools with a graduation rate of 90.2 percent in 20014-2015. While it is unknown how much of an effect can be credited for dividing the larger school into two smaller schools, the success is evident. Something is working that was not working before.

ACLU and AAUW

The American Association of University Women and the American Civil Liberties Union have voiced protests stating these formats are violations of civil rights. The Cincinnati teachers would strongly disagree. Students have the right to succeed in school. "It’s amazing, the amount of productivity I’m seeing in classes. Discipline referrals are almost obsolete at this point," says director Deland McCollough from Cincinnati.

Business instructor at Withrow, Don Lakes, says, "I get a lot more interaction in my classes than I ever got at my previous schools."

Some Abandon Format

Some smaller schools are being forced to abandon the same-sex format in spite of it working. Due to teacher cutbacks, the staff is no longer large enough to divide boys and girls into single-gender classes. Some have modified the school format to continue single-gender format in grades nine and ten, and then go co-ed in eleven and twelve.

South Carolina

This state is so convinced that single-gender classrooms work that it set a lofty goal. In five years, the state wants to offer every middle school child the opportunity to attend school in a same-gender environment. South Carolina goes state-wide.

The Future

If same-gender schools are a fad or the wave of the future is unknown. But, if you ask the teachers that teach in this format, they strongly support it. Tim Kraus, president of the Cincinnati Federation of Teachers says, "Regardless of possible political or ideological opposition, single-gender classes have the strong support of teachers who have tried it. They are continuing to do it because they think it works."

How to Increase Student Engagement in Five Times?

Student engagement is to what degree the students are involved in the learning process. For example, if a student is actively listening to some kind of discussion and simultaneously writing down some key points, then we can say that the student is engaged. There are five levels of student engagement identified by researchers:

●     Authentic engagement: In this, the student is immersed in the work having a clear meaning and has an immediate value such as reading book based on the topic which is of personal interest to the student.

●     Ritual compliance: In ritual compliance, the work involved has very little or no direct significance to students, but still there is some kind of extrinsic outcomes that keep the student engaged, for example earning credits or grades which are necessary for getting accepted to the college.

●     Passive compliance: Some of the task that the students are not directly associated or related to but they give their full attention and effort to complete the task in order to avoid negative penalties and consequences such as they does not want to stay back in recess time to complete the task.

●     Retreatism: In retreatism, the students are not attached from the assigned work and they somehow are not making any attempt to accomplish the task but they are not even disrupting others to learn in the process.

●     Rebellion: In this, as the name suggests, students are not willing and they refuse to perform the assigned task, they act disruptive and they also make an attempt to substitute any alternate activities.

There are seven ways by which one can increase the student engagement. This is required because students who are involved in the task learn things more efficiently and they grasp the things they are learning in a better way. Also, students who are engaged in learning task tend to be more passionate. Some of the suggestions by which students engagement can increase are:

●     Use 10:2 method: In this, after every 10 minutes of instruction the teacher should let students process, grasp and respond to the instruction for 2 minutes. This can be done by letting them write about what they understood and what they learned, any query and question they have or they can also discuss the content they learned with their fellow classmate.

●     The teacher can include movement in the lessons: In this, the students are required to answer the question asked but by moving from his place to some spot in the classroom such as writing on the whiteboard or standing or even sitting in some other place, etc.

●     The teacher should pick up the pace of teaching: There is a misconception that teacher should go slow and let student really understand and get engaged in a lesson learned. But there are studies reporting that when the teacher is at a brisk pace of instruction, students get more opportunities to get engaged, respond and also move to next concept.

●     The teacher should provide frequent feedback and it should be effective so that the student can have a clear understanding of the lesson.

●     When the teacher asks any question she should give at least 5 to 7 seconds of thinking time to the students to answer the question.

How to establish friendly relationships with peers?

Peers are what defines a class and sets them apart from the rest. With the help of a peer group, a person can either grow and explore new options or fall behind and be miserable. Thus, it is essential to maintain a cordial relationship with your peers, in order to ensure that you never fall behind. However, it is easier said than done.

Many people fail to develop such an effective relationship with their peers and are often bullied. However, with some effective methods you can change the situation and ensure that your peer group actually become your friends!

What are the ways to be friendly to your peers?

●     Communicate

It is essential that you communicate your thoughts and ideas freely with your peers to facilitate an exchange of ideas. If someone is not comfortable with verbal communications, try texting or emailing them, using various platforms to reach out to them. Also, keep your body language in mind when talking to them, in person.

●     Try to know your peers

In order to establish a bond of friendship, you need to first establish a bond of trust. This can only be done when you get to know your peers. Ask a bit about their personal life. How are they doing? Any persisting problems? Try and discuss them and try to provide solutions if you can.

●     Tune in your attitude

Your attitude is well read by your peers, so always remember to tone it down when talking to them. Keep a friendly attitude. However, it is alright if you are not friends with everyone in your group. There will be some personas you might not get along with but find a way to maintain a subdued, working relationship with them.

●     Help each other out

One way to ensure and establish friendship with your peers is to help them out. A peer student might not have their work done or are failing to understand certain aspects of a topic. Try and explain it to them. If someone from your peer group faces some problem in work, try to help them out. You can even solve their personal dilemmas if you want to. Also, provide them with opportunities to return the favour as well.

●     Try and be positive

Keep up a positive attitude and think positive always. Your positivity is what affects your surroundings and will certainly affect your peer group. If you ever have a bad day, then keep it low and try not to be too emotional. Don’t vent out your frustrations and anger on your peers. Instead, take a break when you think you can’t contain your emotions.

Key points to maintain a friendly working relationship with your peers

Thus, applying these methods will certainly help you to establish trustable relationships with your peers. To sum it up,

1.      Support your peer group in their hour of need.

2.      Communicate freely to facilitate the exchange of thoughts and ideas.

3.      Never bully your peers.

4.      Encourage and cooperate freely with your peers.

5.      Try to reach a middle ground during arguments and compromise a bit.