Strollerderby

I don't know that it would be harmful. My daughter is in 3rd grade. Her personality is pretty dramatic and she can easily get caught up in drama between girlfriends. She does so much better with the boys because they are a little more carefree.

I would totally go for it in my son's middle school though. All those hormones sure do get in the way of learning math and history. On the other hand, his school is a bit of training ground for the kids to learn about the other sex and what they like and don't like.

I'm torn but I think I lean towards leaving it how it is. All mixed up.

I went to an all-girls high school and absolutely loved it.  My 6th, 7th, and 8th grade years were rough - I was in a class of very mean, clique-y kids.  When I got to high school, it was a relief not to have to worry about what the boys were thinking of my - I could concentrate on my friends and school.  I graduated with amazing friends and fantastic grades - two things I doubt I would have had if I were in a regular high school.  I know I wouldn't be the same confident person I am now if I had gone to a different school.  Now, I was the ugly duckling - I didn't come into my own until I was a sophomore, and I know that my looks and geekiness had everything to do with how I was treated in junior high.  When I finally bloomed, I didn't have to worry about sudden attention or how to deal with it, which was nice.  I also know stunningly beautiful girls who benefited greatly from the all-girls environment - without boys, they learned to depend on their personalities and intelligence rather than their looks, and they turned out much more well-rounded than they would have in a different environment.

Do I think it's necessary for grade-schoolers?  I don't think so, as much...I think you are still learning critical interaction lessons at that age.  I think maybe separating the match or science classes and leaving the rest co-ed might be a good solution - those classes where girls have a tendency to not do so well.  But then, shouldn't we also give the boys a chance and give them their own reading class, where THEY tend to not do so well?  It's tough....I think at that age they need to be co-ed but I can see the benefits of single-sex education too.  

I ended up in the dorms at college with about 5 women who went to all girls catholic schools.  They were the rowdiest, hardest drinking carousers I met in college.  Often we would come back to the dorms at 2 am and see them passed out in the hall.  I'm not saying this is true of all single sex high school girls, I'm just saying that this was what I observed.

on the other hand, all women colleges seem to put out some amazing women.  

Absolutely believe that single-sex education is good for girls. I went to an all-girls school until 5th grade and absolutely loved it. Was in coed for middle school and high school - ech. Went back to all-girls for college and found my groove again.

When you are a girl in a coed situation and you're shy, you tend to get lost in the shadows. It's hard to step up. But with all-girls - we ALL had to step up. Who will be Student Body President? Who will be on the debate team, the basketball team? Who will be the smartest kid? The best sportsman?

In all those cases it HAS to be a girl. In coed situations, if you are a girl and happen to be the smartest - it's NOT a good thing. You hide it.

The other aspect I found was that as a socially-inept, geeky girl, I could more easily find friends - girls who were like me - when there were 20 girls to pick from rather than only 10. Frankly, in elementary school boys and girls don't tend to really be friends together.

I grew up going to the same school as my older brothers and loved it. Last year we decided to put our daughter in an all girls' private school and she loves it.

I don't think there is a right or a wrong here, we chose the school more for what they had to offer as a school - not necessarily because it was all girls. That said, there sure is alot of room for leadership in an all girls school.

Roz

www.echoage.com

I think that I would've benefited from an all-girls education. I think that I would've become much more of a leader. When I played with kids (boys and girls) in our neighborhood, I was bossy and pretty strong; when I went to kindergarten, my teacher's comment was, "She's a great kid, but so quiet!" My mom didn't think that she was talking about the right kid. I stayed like this throughout my school career. Maybe it WAS just the environment (20 kids, as opposed to the 10 in our neighborhood), rather than a mixed-sex class, but my personality totally changed. Even now, as an adult, I tend to be much more forceful with just women around and much quieter with a mixed group.

I am, in contrast to the post's author, fairly essentialist (at least as much as I believe in socialization) in my outlook on sex differences. I can't imagine either of my boys sitting tons in class; they would need the running and shouting.

i went to coed schools my whole life. i actually dont know anyone who did go to an all girls, or all boys school. But i do see the benefits. All the things you dont have to worry about when you split them up by gender is definetly a plus. when they are younger its the differences in the way they act, and being able to act more freely without having to worry about the opposite sex. and in middle and high school, you have enough to worry about, peer pressure, school work... it would be better not to have to worry about realtionships, or crushes, or anything like that.

However, i do think i may have done better if i didnt worry about the cute guy in my spanish class and what he was thinking about me. but i wouldnt have changed my high school experience for the world. I always got along better with boys. even with all of the drama, and breakups, it was so much fun. Even when i got out of high school i got a job working 3rd shift, stocking shelves at a grocery store. I was the only girl there. and I loved that, i think that while guys can be rude and immature, there is so much less drama than with girls.

though i do remember some of the outfits the girls in my school wore (the short skirts, and low cut tops), and without guys, maybe they wouldnt be wearing those. and that is something i totally want for my daughter.

A few women have commented on how they themselves got along better with guys in h.s., or their daughters do now in grade school. I wonder if, once guys are removed from the equation, the girls are actually free to get along better? I wouldn't be at all surprised if the absence of males lets girls build stronger friendships. Think of how much drama in mid sch and h.s. occurred between girls because of a guy. In my experience, a fair amount. I do think that without guys around, it's much more possible for girls to be a whole lot less catty.

I'm curious if the girls who were in All-Girls schools during HS and JH really did stop worrying and talking about boys. I somehow doubt it. When I was in the Army, not too long after high school, just because there weren't any girls around didn't stop us from talking about them.

@ g8grl - that certainly wasn't my experience.  Did girls at my HS drink? While I didn't, yes, there were some that did. I think there are kids at EVERY high school who drink.  But it was definitely the exception, not the rule.  Did I drink in college?  Yes, absolutely.  But not excessively or out of control.

@ ChiLaura - Yes, the girls at my high school definitely got along better than our co-ed counterparts from what I observed.  While there were "groups" - the theater kids, the jocks, the artsy kids, whatever - we were easily able to move from one group to another without ever feeling unwelcome.

@ Treespeed - NO! Of course not.  We weren't asexual. :) We were all concerned about having boyfriends and wondering if boys thought we were cute, etc.  But it wasn't all consuming, and it wasn't something we really thought about much during the day other than lunch.  We weren't trying to flirt or impress boys during classes or anything.  In fact, no one did their makeup or took time to do their hair in anything other than a ponytail. :)  We did have contact with guys - most of us still had guy friends from grade school, from work, etc., and we did projects with the all-boys schools in the area.  So there was no shortage of meeting or socializing with boys - it just wasn't an all-consuming task.