All boys school/I am losing it!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The thing I wonder about is whether an all boys school would be better equipped to deal with my super active first grader. I feel like he get compared to girls. The expectations for impulse control and sitting still are crazy at my son's school. If there were a good all-boys option near us, that really got boys, I would look at it.

We go to a mixed gender school and the challenging kids in our class includes some active girls...so it is not always the case that the boys are considered "a problem" when compared to girls in a classrom.

[Anonymous]

And boys often get a pass for their appalling behavior in our school because they are "just being boys and can't help themselves." If girls engage in the same behaviors, they are punished for it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I've looked into the available online sources of peer reviewed research on same sex schools k-12. A careful reading seems to show boys benefit academically from early years boys only school, while girls benefit academically from girls only school in later years. The most discussed options on this forum have it backwards.

Okay, but most of those studies were done at a time (not so long ago) when expectations, especially at high school, shaded toward high for boys and low for girls. In that context, girls benefiting (and boys not) from a single sex high school totally makes sense. But today the context has inverted, and I wouldn't be surprised if re-running the same studies today generated a similar inversion of results.

[Anonymous]

Private School requires a big investment of time and treasure. Single gender education is, for the most part, only available through the private school system. Coed education is , of course, available through the public school system (though DC public schools are not considered a viable option for many at the high school level). In this area, I would question the incremental value of private school coed education for those who have access to the Montgomery or Fairfax County school system (in fact coed private school enrollment is very small in these areas). If one believes that single gender education provides a significant advantage (and there is research on both sides), then private school may be well worth the investment. In the end, it depends on the child. There are some good independent testers and educational consultants in the area that can provide OBJECTIVE advice with regard to your particular child. Objectivity is not something you’ll find on the DCUM board.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I've looked into the available online sources of peer reviewed research on same sex schools k-12. A careful reading seems to show boys benefit academically from early years boys only school, while girls benefit academically from girls only school in later years. The most discussed options on this forum have it backwards.

Does seem clear to me (male) that removing girls from ongoing everyday allday contact with a boy can only heighten the tendency to judge women only by appearance in early adulthood. Some will say that's already preordained, but really, it seems far more complex dance.

This is my perspective as the parent of two ES girls, one in 1st and the other in 3rd:

My dds come home daily complaining about how disruptive the boys are in class. They are more rambunctious, demand more discipline, etc. I think this is just a reality of younger grade school. Sometimes I wish my girls were in an all-girl school. That's the issue more than self-image. The girls are better prepared to learn, more cooperative, and generally better students.

At some point this shifts, I think. Boys become more focused. Girls, already accustomed to the attention bestowed upon boys for bad reasons (discipline) continue to be meek while the boys come to dominate classroom dynamics in other ways.

[Anonymous]

The list of accomplished female graduates of coed private education is far less impressive than the list of female graduates of single gender private schools or coed public schools. Of course, there are fewer female grads of coed private schools, but there may be a reason for that too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Op here --

Since someone resurrected this old thread, I will add that I decided not to send my DS to an all boys school for now. We will see when he reaches high school.

Good choice!

[Anonymous]

Are girls really meek and quiet now? With girls encouraged to beat the boys or at least rival them at academics, sports, and other activities, I'd be surprised if they weren't acting out more too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am struggling with whether I should send my son to an all boys school. If he starts at the elementary grades, it is probably he will also go to an all boys high school.

I have a number of issues that I am thinking through, but lately I have been focusing on the what kind of great memories of the high school experience he will have if he goes to an all boys school.

I just watched Alvin and the Chipmunks, the Squeakel. The main story is about a dance contest at a high school -- it showed boys and girls having fun, football games, cheerleaders, a lot of diversity, etc. It is a fun movie.

I also love Glee.

I know it is pretty bizarre to be influenced by this movie and TV show, but it did get me thinking. My best memories of high school involve boys and girls having fun together, football games and other sports, the annual musical, etc.

Thoughts from people with boys at an all boys school? Anyone's son regret the decision and think he missed out on the "typical" high school experience?

TIA

i look in to it a lot and well its bad i recommend a school same to the one im going to venture academy. so far we art judgmental and well we have least two teachers in a class of 25 kids. so each teacher gets to know the students better. now when i was looking in to it finding out if all boy/ girl schools are bad well here some sites i found and there not your .com ones
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/sep/28/all-boys-schools
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/education/education-news/why-singlesex-schools-are-bad-for-your-health-if-youre-a-boy-1831636.html
if you don't like it i can give you more stuff in it i all so have an essay on it but it on all girl schools but there was a paragraph on all boy schools. so email me at ([e-mail])

[Anonymous]

The post is hard to read so I will go out on a limb and assume English is not the native language. Be careful about providing personal info, OP.

[Anonymous]

I think it really depends on the school and kid.

For example, although St. Alban's is most definitely a school which prides itself on turning boys to men, it also shares the Cathedral with NCS - and has several academic classes with NCS. Plus a significant number of the boys were classmates with NCS grils at Beauvoir, so there are deep friendships which breeds familiarity to even those boys who didn't go to Beauvoir.

I am sure there are other schools with similar situations. Also, if a boy has a sister then chances are he will know her friends.

I can't help but wonder about an all boys culture for a boy who has no sisters or inherent social connection to girls outside of the school environment.

[Anonymous]

It really depends on the boy. I have one son who has thrived at an all-boys school and one who left to go to a co-ed school for high school. Very different boys; very different school choices. Visit the schools you are considering and ask youself if you could see your son being happy there. And remember, children change. You can always start out in one kind of school and switch to another. I will say that the all-boys schools do seem better equipped to deal with rambunctios young boys -- they seem to understand them better.