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high schools where smart kids aren't considered nerds & can be popular?
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Anonymous
Proof, please? It sounds like you're just making this up. Because my experience in a single-sex school was quite good. |
Anonymous
| Why does OP want her kid(s) to be popular in high school? |
Anonymous
Our experience, with children in each type of school, is different. The single sex school has less of that than the co-ed school. There is some, to be sure, but definitely a different dynamic. |
Anonymous
Disagree strongly with this blanket statement. Despite the stereotypes, I've actually found single-sex schools to be less clique-ish than coed schools. Students are less concerned with impressing the opposite sex, who's dating who, etc. |
Anonymous
| The boys are much tougher on each other at all boys schools. Girls are much meaner to each other. That's absolutely why I send my kids to a co-ed school. Bullying can exist any where - like Maret apparently - as a recent example. My sister is the same way, she isn't sending her kids to single sex schools either. She did attend Smith and said that she would want her daughter to have that option because girls have aged-out of the mean girl stuff by then. |
Anonymous
| Agreed that bullying is everywhere. But why can't you send your child to a co-ed school that offers some single-sex classes? You get the best of both worlds. There are some of those schools out there that offer this. |
Anonymous
| As a parent of teen and tween kids, I think 22:06 is spot on in drawing a distinction between popularity and social happiness. I agree that most kids can find social happiness, if not popularity, at many different schools. At least that's what I've seen with my own children and their friends, who attend a range of public and independent schools throughout the area. OP, I'd ask why you're so concerned about popularity and having your daughter included among the cool kids? I actually think it's an important part of the social and emotional development of adolescents to recognize that having true friends is much more satisfying than playing the popularity game. In my experience, middle school kids are much more concerned with who's in and who's out, but by the time kids are in high school, those who are happy and mature -- and, again, I think this is the majority -- have stopped caring about that stuff. They'd rather live a more authentic life -- pursuing their academic and extracurricular interests and hanging with friends. |
Anonymous
Wow, I couldn't think of a better way to piss my daughter off. Arguably, that's the worst of both worlds. |
Anonymous
| Don't understand 7:07's comments. You have both sexes for balance and the proven benefits of single sex classes. It's win-win! |
Anonymous
|
"Most of the "extremely bright" adults I know need to work on their social skills. "
And how. |
Anonymous
Besides the obvious, how do the single-sex classes differ? |
Anonymous
| St. Alban's is the school you are looking for. The "nerds" are considered the "cool kids" there, while the athletes really don't get as much attention. You are much more likely to be commended for your science club project than a lacrosse victory there |
Anonymous
Often they are in math and science where girls have not been encouraged or expected to excel in as much as boys. A single sex class provides an opportunity for girls to ask questions, to be the top students, etc. I have a daughter in a single sex school and it is very empowering for the girls. They are very much focused on academics, as well as other activities. They are the leaders of every team, every club, student government, etc. It has really increased her confidence overall. |
Anonymous
| Totally agree with 9:51. Especially in Middle School where the differences between the sexes stands out. Boys and girls also learn differently so this is also taken into account. |
Anonymous
The oft-professed advantages of single-sex schools include monopoly on leadership positions of all sorts for one gender and the notion that the other sex won't be around to distract students from their school work. Those advantages are lost in a co-ed school. In which context single-sex classes (presumably for math and science for girls -- at least that's what you always see -- not, say single-sex English for boys) suggest (or, at very least, would to my young teen) that girls can't compete with boys on a level playing field in those subjects. Cf sports. Precisely the message you don't want to be sending. Yes, it's dressed up as "different learning styles," but, again, my kid would point out that learning styles aren't strictly gendered so if you were serious about sorting on that axis you might get one class that was predominantly girls and another that was predominantly boys, but neither would be exclusively one gender. Hence my worst of both worlds comment. Combining two very different models doesn't always get you the best of both. Remember JFK's comment about DC being a city of Southern efficiency and Northern charm? |