Boys only/Girls only
Hillsborough considers offering same-sex education in one of its schools this fall. But some say separating the sexes is discriminatory.
By MELANIE AVE
Published February 2, 2005
DeLAND - Once teacher Tessa Michaelos gives the signal - "Use your inside voices, please!" - the 21 boys race to their tables.
The Sharks grab the magnets, the Stars draw graphs, the Cool Boys roll letter blocks and the Frogs hop - literally - to the Legos table, where they plop yellow hard hats on their heads. The din grows louder when Michaelos asks the kindergarteners, "Anybody want to wear goggles?"
Across a small hallway, Karen Medlin's all-girls class reads, writes and plays. Three girls lie on the floor with puzzles. Four others paint. Noise and movement are minimal.
"There ain't no boys," brags Abreianna Bentley, 6, giving Medlin a squeeze. "It's fun."
At Woodward Avenue Elementary School in Volusia County, teachers are experimenting with same-sex classes, a growing but controversial trend in public education. Six classes of kindergarteners, second-graders and fourth-graders are part of a voluntary program aimed at reducing the academic differences between boys and girls.
Halfway through the program's first year, administrators and teachers like what they see.
"So far," said principal JoAnne Rodkey, "it's been a wonderful learning experience."
Hillsborough County educators are watching Woodward as they consider starting a similar program this fall. Their plan could include all-girl and all-boy classes in all or part of at least one school.
If approved, Hillsborough would be the first public school district in the Tampa Bay area to offer same-sex education, and one of only a handful in Florida.
"We're looking at it seriously, very seriously," said Donnie Evans, Hillsborough's chief academic officer.
Same-sex education has been on the rise for the last decade, fueled by new brain research that shows boys and girls learn differently almost from birth.
The number of U.S. public schools offering same-sex classes grew from just four eight years ago to 154 this year, according to the National Association for Single Sex Public Education. Like Woodward, most are coeducational schools that offer some single-gender courses.
Advocacy groups such as the American Civil Liberties Union and the National Organization for Women oppose the change.
Kathy Rodgers, president of Legal Momentum, a women's rights group in New York City, said same-sex education is discriminatory.
Before 1972, when the passage of Title IX banned sex discrimination in public schools, single-gender schools often forced children into stereotypical courses. Boys took woodworking while girls enrolled in home economics. Girls were often left out of rigorous math and science classes.
Rodgers thinks those problems will return if same-sex classes spread.
"No matter what you do in society, if it's all girls, it's second-class," she said. "And if it's all boys, it's first-class. It has never been any other way and it's a violation of our Constitution."
Supporters say same-sex classes are not inherently discriminatory and can be beneficial to students. Some studies show disadvantaged children blossom when taught separately.
Rosemary Salomone, a law professor at St. John's University and a graduate of an all-girls Catholic high school, says same-sex schools should be available in the public arena just as they are in the private realm.
"For me, it's largely an equity problem," said Salomone, author of the book Same, Different, Equal. "Poor parents have not had the same choice that the wealthy have."
Principal JoAnne Rodkey decided change was needed at Woodward after she reviewed the school's test scores.
Girls outpaced boys in reading and writing, and boys led the way in math. Though the state gave the school an A based on student performance, she knew it could do better.
Rodkey began researching same-sex education, sought teacher volunteers and went to the Volusia County School Board for approval. It gave the school a year to test the approach.
Plenty of parents agreed to enroll their children, who are at a wide range of ability levels. The two sexes are only apart for their academic classes. They eat and attend physical education classes together.
Denise Lane signed up her 5-year-old, Jacob, for Michaelos' class.
"I know boys and girls tend to learn differently," said Lane, a child care worker. "Girls are more into coloring and detail. Boys are more into learning by building things and using their hands.
"We felt Jacob's learning experience would be better in an all-boys class. He's doing really well."
Rodkey thinks all-boy classes are harder to teach. Two of the seven teachers who do not want to return to the same-sex classes next year teach boys. Michaelos is one of them.
"Boys require a lot more ingenuity and activity," said Michaelos, 39, who has been teaching 10 years. "The noise level is different. I'm physically and mentally more tired after teaching the boys. It takes me hours to do lesson plans."
She thinks girls benefit more from being separate than boys, who need girls as role models.
Key to the success of same-sex classes and schools is teacher training, says Dr. Leonard Sax, executive director of the National Association for Single Sex Public Education. Teachers, especially all-boy educators, must learn the research and learning styles of boys and alter their methods accordingly.
To be truly effective with boys, teachers need to funnel their extra energy, not quash it.
"Boys need a teacher who is always moving and never standing still," Sax said. "The problem with most elementary schools is the boys come in there and (are told), we need you to sit down and be quiet. That doesn't come naturally."
Woodward's teachers have adapted their classrooms. During reading time in James and Deborah Roberts' combined fourth-grade boys class, the boys are free to lounge on the floor, sit at desks or crowd under tables.
They get a 15-minute recess in the morning to burn off energy.
"It's better than other classes," said Monolito Hamilton, 10. "When I had girls in my class, they got almost everything they wanted. They told on us."
Deborah Roberts has gotten used to the higher noise level and no longer is offended when the boys won't make eye contact.
"Boys need fast-paced instruction," she said. "You don't have to dwell on things with boys. They're very direct."
Teachers in the all-girl classes have had few difficulties. Most of the problems have been about friendship disputes.
Some shy girls have come out of their shells without boys around. A few seem more assertive when tackling math and science lessons, teachers said.
Without the distraction of young boys, the girls are focused on their lessons. Many have excelled, teachers said.
Teachers say they often use more feminine examples when teaching. "We might be measuring dolls instead of baseballs," said fourth-grade girls teacher Sharie Mesibov.
Teacher Myrna Bedenbaugh, 57, could not be happier with her 17 second-grade girls.
Bedenbaugh realized how different the year was going to be on the first day of school. She had planned a week's worth of basic rules and review. But the girls blew through her plans in one day.
That had never happened in her 33 years of teaching coed classes.
"Everybody asks me how do I like it," Bedenbaugh said, as she did a little shimmy. "Am I in heaven? Am I in heaven?"
Next door to Bedenbaugh, Mary Catherine Michaels uses a Jeopardy-like game to review a story her boys had just read, "How I Spent My Summer Vacation." Her classroom has two cages with hamsters, a tank with salamanders and a bowl of mealworms.
The boys love competing, so she uses lots of games to teach. After they review the rules for Jeopardy - no cheating and no spying - the boys divide into teams and huddle with their arms around each other like they were on a football field.
One team gets an early lead and wins easily. Michaels tries to keep the focus off the score, refusing to add up the points.
"Go to your seats," she told the boys. "Tell each other "good job.' Be good sports."
Though Michaels plans to go back to a coed class next year, she says the experiment has improved her teaching skills.
"It's been a phenomenal experience," she said. "It's changed the way I view boys. They can stay focused on an activity, we just have to hook them in."
Times researcher Cathy Wos contributed to this report. Melanie Ave can be reached at 813 226-3400 or melanie@sptimes.com
EDUCATION TRENDSSome facts about same-sex education:
Most same-sex schools fell out of favor after the 1972 passage of Title IX, which barred sex discrimination in public schools.
In 2002, the federal No Child Left Behind Act allowed some flexibility in offering same-sex schools and classrooms.
Public schools offering same-sex classes grew from four eight years ago to 154 this year.
Supporters say same-sex education caters to the different learning styles of boys and girls, frees them from the distraction of the opposite sex and allows them to participate in nonstereotypical courses.
Critics say it is discriminatory, illegal and a return to separate and unequal education practices.
Sources: Times research, the National Association for Single Sex Public Education.