Blue on the Boys’ Wall, Yellow on the Girls’ Wall

The Panama City Renaissance School blog links to an article in the Las Vegas Sun about same-sex public education. The article quotes the usual experts for and against single-sex schooling. Then it concludes with this on-target quote from a parent:

“I don’t know if boys and girls really do learn differently — I know that’s the theory,” Curiel told the Sun as he dropped Eric off for class. “But whatever it is, it’s working.”

Experts on the both sides make the mistake of overgeneralizing. Single-sex education proponents claim, for example, that all boys should learn in classrooms painted certain colors because the average boy reacted better than the average girl to that color in a research study — never mind that wall color may not affect achievement, or that individual boys have different color preferences. On the other hand, critics of single-sex education rally against the perceived unfairness of separate classes, dismissing the fact that some students have had good experiences with single-sex schooling.

One system wouldn’t work for everyone, but it’s better when people have a choice.