Single Sex Education is Better than Co-Education

Thanks to my opponent for describing the points in such a lucid way.Here are the expansions of my points:(1)Students at co-education schools learn to interact better with the people of opposite gender:Students at co-ed schools meet a variety of people of opposite gender. It is definitely true that children meet many people of opposite gender outside school also. But to understand a gender better one must interact with a variety of people of that gender. Not all students are involved in extracurricular activities. Understanding siblings often backfires in understanding other people of that gender because young children think that all the people of that gender must be like their siblings.Here are some statements made by students studying in single-sex schools about their understanding of the opposite gender:"Boys were exotic creatures for us. We only met them inside the pages of books. In college, where they appeared in human form, we had no idea what to say to them." [1](2)Co-education provides a platform for students of one gender to compete with those of the other gender:Competition is very essential in honing the skills of a child. Children must compete with the students of the opposite gender to realize where they stand. In some subjects, boys perform better than girls whereas in some other,it's the other way round. If children do not realize this at school level, they will face trouble and lag behind in competitive examinations.(3)Co-education helps in exchange of views and opinions between the students of opposite genders:It is evident that boys and girls see things with different perspectives. The views of boys about literature and poems can not be the same as girls' and girls' views about subjects like mathematics or physics can not be like boys'. Therefore, presence of both boys and girls in class will make the class more interactive and help in exchange of views among the students of opposite gender.(4)The level of understanding and learning by students depends upon efficiency of teacher and not on specialized methods:In some cases it is observed that students at single sex schools perform better than those at co-ed schools. But many other researches have also shown that students at co-ed schools perform better. "Being with more girls is good for everybody," said Prof. Analia Schlosser, an economist from the Eitan Berglas School of Economics at Tel Aviv University. "We find that both boys and girls do better when there are more girls in the class," she added.The study found that boys with more female peers in their classes showed higher enrollment rates in both advanced math and science classes, but overall benefits were found in all grades for both sexes. [2]Therefore, no sole conclusion can be deduced from the researches conducted by various organizations. I would like to add that the academic performance of the students depends upon the way teachers teach in the class and the amount of effort they put to make the class interactive and interesting.(5)Education doesn't mean only academic performance. Involvement of both boys and girls is necessary in many other activities of school life:I believe all will agree that education does not mean only academics. A student, in his/her school life participates in many other extracurricular activities which require participation of students of both the genders. Imagine a school football team without cheerleaders and a prom night with only boys or girls. These things may not seem necessary but are definitely a very important part of a student's school life. Single sex education may improve discipline or improve academic performance, but it makes a student's school life dull as they lack the companionship of the people of the other gender.Sources: [1] http://www.dnaindia.com...[2]http://www.medindia.net...Refutation:(1) Students at single-sex schools perform better than those at co-ed schools: As i have already stated, few researches can not deduce a sole conclusion about the performance of students in single sex or co-ed schools. Many other researches have also shown that students perform and behave better due to the presence of students of other gender in a class.(2) Males and females have different learning styles which must be treated differently:I believe there is no harm in allowing students to choose subjects which they find interesting. We can not force boys to love painting or girls to love computers. It is a thing which they have to decide on their own. In fact, presence of students of both the genders in a class allows them to share their interests, opinions and views about a thing which is not possible in single-sex schools. (3)Single-sex education promotes gender equality:I don't think gender inequality in the professions you mentioned is due to girls not being interested in them. There are many girls who find such professions interesting and choose professions also. But, it is due to the chauvinism of men and our patriarchal society that the women are unable to prove their worth in such professions. In fact, i believe allowing girls to compete with boys and score better than them will make them more confident and provide them motivation to choose professions which are dominated by men.(4) Students have a life outside of class:I agree with your point that some students at single-sex schools have life outside the classroom and are good at interacting with people of the other gender. But, it is not the case with everyone. Many girls and boys at single-sex schools face problems in interacting with people of the other gender confidently. Moreover, siblings do not help in making someone good at interacting with the people of opposite sex as they can not make students understand the whole gender completely. To understand the other gender completely one needs to interact with many persons and experience companionship of various people having different personality traits.