schoi@teri.bio.uci.edu (Sam "Lord Byron" Choi) (03/07/91)
erm2@midway.uchicago.EDU writes: >I used to be vehemently opposed to single sex schools, but found >myself forced to change my mind during my senior year of high >school... >(lots of stuff deleted) I have hear the same argument used in the case of Mill College students fighting to keep it an all women's college. The example is moving and certainly raises an important issue. The conclusion, however is a bit shortsighted. The fact that female student may tend to shut up in classes with male students in them tells, and consequently, probably do not learn as much as they could, does not lead me to the conclusion that classes should be segregated. The problem probably lies somewhere in the socialization of young girls (not so much the boys I would imagine since there is no real evidence of the (males actively telling the females to shutup). What are we telling our daughters that later on makes them so timid in the presence of males? This is where we have to attack this problem. Simply segregating the classes only covers up the problem. So what are you going to do when these women, full of knowledge and ability, have to deal with the external world which is comprised of BOTH men and women? At what point should men and women be reintegrated? High school? The university? graduate school? post-doctoral classes? In a corporation? Or maybe men and women should set up parallel socieites, forever isolated from each other, meeting only to reproduce? I see how single-gender classes could be helpful in the short-term, but it is a finger in the hole at best. What we really need is s new dam. Sam Choi schoi@teri.bio.uci.edu (paste you favorite generic disclaimer here)