The Claremont Institute releases a study that indicates that coeducational institutions tend to reinforce gender stereotypes rather than break them down. That is, women are far more likely to take math and science courses at a girls only school and similarly, boys are more likely to take art and theater at a boys only school. Critics will damn Claremont as partisan and so on, but I think there's something there. Single sex schooling makes sense for many reasons. That is not to say that boys and girls should be segregated, far from it. Rather, there should be mixing in a social setting rather than an educational one. Either that or some sort of gradual mixing as the kids get older. The very young kids likely benefit from coeducation. My son's only experience with little girls is school. There aren't many of them in our neighborhood and he's only now figuring out that girls are somehow, different. However, once those differences emerge, it makes sense to separate them by sex to create the best environment for everyone. Boys and girls learn differently, they behave differently and when mixed, they're moritified of say/doing something dumb in front of each other. There's enough pressure that comes with being a teenager and anything we can do to reduce that pressure at school is a good thing.
Quarantine 2008 has ended
Fair warning: possibly graphic post and not for the squeamish. So it all started Friday night. Wife and I had a long day (as usual) and had finally finished with dishes, laundry and the rest of the normal daily grind. The baby had been fussy most of the day and had spit up here and there. Mostly we thought it had been switching from formula to milk which can sometimes cause this type of thing. By the time kid #4 rolls around you tend to let these things slide. If this were #1 we'd have called in a medivac at the first sign of vomiting in a 1 year old. He finally calmed down and we got him off to sleep. We watched a bit of The Wire and retired (very) late. About 10 minutes later #2 wakes up crying complaining of a stomach ache. I ask if he has to go to the bathroom and he says no, it's not that. His stomach really hurts. OK, into my bed and I'll get the heating pad for a bit. We get him settled and he calms down. Knowing that he tends towards the dramatic, I s...
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