Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why for boys GDS is better? Is it because it has stronger academic or because coed benefits boys more?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So NSC help girls concentrate in class?

That's one argument for the benefits of single-sex education for girls, yeah -- not just concentrating, but not worrying about what boys in their classes will think (whether they're afraid of seeming "too smart," or reluctant to raise their hand in case they end up looking foolish in front of a boy they like).

Also, in single-sex schools for girls, all the leadership positions in student government, clubs, etc., are held by girls.

This is an advocacy group for single-sex education, so not unbiased, but they offer some arguments as to the benefits for girls: http://www.singlesexschools.org/research-forgirls.htm

I've seen how much defining gender matters in my daughter's preK and K classes -- they are so preoccupied with defining gender roles ("girl things" and "boy things") and policing who does what, and I spend more time than I'd like trying to undo that. It gets more subtle as kids get older, but it doesn't go away. The idea is that single-sex education shields kids from that to some extent.

FWIW, I went to NCS (in the dark ages, a/k/a the '80s), and based on that experience I think single-sex education offers a lot of benefits for girls (and not so many for boys). I chose NCS over GDS because, at the time (=when I was 10), I was a little put off by the "hippie" vibe at GDS. However, in summer programs and at college I met a bunch of great, smart people from GDS, and I have a very positive impression of the school.

For a daughter, I'd really be torn between the two schools, and I might well leave the decision to her. (For a son, I'd pick GDS over StA, no question.)

I'm the one who said I'd pick GDS over StA -- I just felt like StA was a shitty environment for boys. Academically very srong, yes -- but it seemed to me (as an NCS student at the time, so not unbiased) that it inculcated a sense of entitlement that really bothered me. Most of the boys at StA are coming from a place of privilege already, they don't need to be told they're going to grow up and rule the world, they need to be talked down from that assumption.

Also, I think single-sex environments for boys can really reinforce rigid, traditional notions of masculinity. That's especially bad for boys who are in any way non-gender conforming -- I had one friend in HS who later came out as gay, and another who was straight but dressed like a dandy, and they both took a lot of verbal and physical shit for that -- but I don't think it's great for *any* boy.

But OP wasn't asking about boys.

Anonymous wrote:Why for boys GDS is better? Is it because it has stronger academic or because coed benefits boys more?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So NSC help girls concentrate in class?

That's one argument for the benefits of single-sex education for girls, yeah -- not just concentrating, but not worrying about what boys in their classes will think (whether they're afraid of seeming "too smart," or reluctant to raise their hand in case they end up looking foolish in front of a boy they like).

Also, in single-sex schools for girls, all the leadership positions in student government, clubs, etc., are held by girls.

This is an advocacy group for single-sex education, so not unbiased, but they offer some arguments as to the benefits for girls: http://www.singlesexschools.org/research-forgirls.htm

I've seen how much defining gender matters in my daughter's preK and K classes -- they are so preoccupied with defining gender roles ("girl things" and "boy things") and policing who does what, and I spend more time than I'd like trying to undo that. It gets more subtle as kids get older, but it doesn't go away. The idea is that single-sex education shields kids from that to some extent.

FWIW, I went to NCS (in the dark ages, a/k/a the '80s), and based on that experience I think single-sex education offers a lot of benefits for girls (and not so many for boys). I chose NCS over GDS because, at the time (=when I was 10), I was a little put off by the "hippie" vibe at GDS. However, in summer programs and at college I met a bunch of great, smart people from GDS, and I have a very positive impression of the school.

For a daughter, I'd really be torn between the two schools, and I might well leave the decision to her. (For a son, I'd pick GDS over StA, no question.)

Anonymous wrote:Why for boys GDS is better? Is it because it has stronger academic or because coed benefits boys more?

Anonymous wrote:

This thread is not about the boys. The comparisons made have been between NCS and GDS for girls. If you look at boys, the comparison would have to be St A (not coed) and GDS. One person said GDS. But I think the point is that more boys end up in the top math/science classes at GDS, and I'm guessing at all coed privates in the area, so if you are a girl you may feel outnumbered (plus all the other reasons PPs raised such as worried about trade off between popularity and being seen as smart).