The Single-Sex High School as a Feature of Secondary Education Has Lost Its Relevance

Introduction

The school plays a vital role in providing the right environment and preparing the students for future life. It is in the way that it helps them to grow emotionally, physically and mentally. Moreover, instilling confidence and self-esteem are the main aspects to the realization of success in a child's education. This way, the child can learn specific characteristics that include self-esteem and confidence through the interaction with others. It is for this reason that parents get a chance to enroll their children either in mixed-sex schools or same-sex schools. For this reason, there are those who opt for the same sex schools especially to shield the girls from engaging in early sexual activities. They argue that they provide a less distractive environment, especially for girls. However, the most crucial question is "why would a parent want to provide an environment that does not reflect the actual image of the society regarding its social structures? (pathos). Many people argue that it helps in the prevention of early pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases. However, as a student who attended a mixed-sex school, I would highlight the fact that it bears no significant academic difference and provides the kind of exposure that offers more confidence to handle the other sexes in the home environment (ethos). It evidenced by the high rate of pregnancies among students in same-sex schools owing to the inability to understand the opposite sex during home interactions (logos). It is for this reason that single-sex high school as a feature of secondary school has lost its relevance as it is not linked to enhanced performance and behavior and does not provide an actual picture of the society to the students (Booth, 2017).

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No relation with student behavior

While individuals contend that same-sex schools help the students to focus on education and avoid distractions from people of the opposite sex, this is not true. It is because they are bound to interact with the same people in the society. Also, same-sex schools are shown to have better results regarding performance. As such, the most proper manner to help the students is to offer guidance through spiritual teaching. Moreover, there lacks clear evidence to show that students in same-sex schools perform better when compared to their counterparts in mixed-sex schools (Young & Cobett, 2014).

Unhealthy and unbalanced lifestyle

The idea that the same-sex secondary schools are unisexual means that they are not able to provide and maintain a healthy and balanced environment for the proper mental development of the students. It shows through the high rate of students that graduate from these schools and have a lot of problems while socializing with the individuals of the opposite sex. In addition to this, statistics reveal that the graduates from single-sex schools are more likely to engage in crimes that include rape and sexual harassment as a result of the unbalanced environment in which they are exposed (Boilard, van de Bongardt, D., & Blais, 2016).

Enhancement of the sexual stereotypes

The enrollment of students in the same sex schools tends to enhance the traditional gender roles. It is especially the case about the performance of math and science subjects for the girls. The fact that girls tend to perform poorly in this subject thus leads to the separation since they work better when exposed to varied learning styles. It makes it difficult to adjust to the actual competition in the real world that comes as a result of the interaction with both genders at the various levels in the society (Presbitero, A. F., Rabellotti, R., & Piras, 2014).

Counter argument

The supporters of the same sex schools indicate that it provides the best environment that contains a lesser level of distraction. In this way, they can concentrate better on their studies. They also suggest that there is an activity for each stage in life. Thus, they contend that secondary school is not the right place to start introducing the students to the real-life issues and to prepare them for the varied aspects that also include the elements of love and relationship. Nonetheless, it is pertinent to note that students should be taught about gender diversity at an early age to help them get prepared to embrace each other in the future stages (Gilad, 2017).

Conclusion

Some efforts have been made to ensure that students get given the right environment in which they can study and grow. It means that the school set up is a preparation for the young individuals to enter adult life in the future. It is for this reason that the same sex schools are established to reduce the level of distraction for the students. While this is the case, they deny the individuals the chance to intermingle with those of the opposite sex and to learn their different characteristics. In this case, there is a conflict that while they provide a suitable environment that enhances the rights of the women, and reduces incidences of early pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases for the teenage girls get not exposed to the kind of life that exists in the real society. Thus, it becomes important to integrate both sexes to provide the real picture of what takes place in the community while providing the relevant religious and social skills.

References

Gilad, M. (2017). The Triple-C Impact: Responding to Childhood Exposure to Crime and Violence.

Boilard, M., van de Bongardt, D., & Blais, M. (2016). Sexuality (and Lack Thereof) in Adolescence and Early Adulthood: A Review of the Literature. Behavioral Sciences (2076-328X), 6(1), bs6010008. doi:10.3390/bs6010008

Booth, A. (2017). Same-Sex Attraction in Young People: Health, Happiness, and Homophobia. In Promotion of Mental Health (pp. 49-60). Routledge.

Presbitero, A. F., Rabellotti, R., & Piras, C. (2014). Barking up the Wrong Tree? Measuring Gender Gaps in Firm's Access to Finance. Journal Of Development Studies, 50(10), 1430-1444. doi:10.1080/00220388.2014.94091

Younger, M., & Cobbett, M. (2014). Gendered perceptions of schooling: Classroom dynamics and inequalities within four Caribbean secondary schools. Educational Review, 66(1), 1-21.