Boys and Girls Together . . . or Not

Orange County school officials recently announced the establishment of separate schools for boys and girls who were having difficulties in coed high schools. Do single-gender schools help students focus on their academic work by reducing social pressures? JIM BLAIR spoke with students.

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DORA GARCIA

17, senior, Hollywood High School Performing Arts Magnet

As an adult, you’re going to be with both males and females, so you better get used to it. Teachers here pay equal attention to boys and girls. I would never go to an all-girls school.

I think a coed education is better because a guy and a girl have the same opportunity and it’s more of a challenging thing.

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KENNETH BOWMAN

15, sophomore, St. Francis High School, La Canada Flintridge

In an all-boys school, there isn’t as much distraction from girls. It’s a big help when you don’t have girls constantly talking about you.

It’s a lot easier to be yourself at a single-sex school; you don’t have to impress anybody. My brother goes to a coed school and spends 15 minutes in front of the mirror every morning. I just get up and put on my clothes and go to school. Like I said, you don’t have to impress guys.

But I don’t think anyone should go to a single-gender school all the way through primary and secondary education. It would be better if boys and girls went to school together all through primary school. You have to get some experience dealing with the opposite sex.

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ADAM FERRELL

17, senior, Venice High School

Single-gender education has become something of a hot topic recently because they’ve been trying it in some areas, and there’s been something of a fuss because it’s been deemed by some to be unconstitutional as a result of Brown vs. Board of Education in which the Supreme Court declared that separate was not equal.

I don’t know how students in these schools are doing, if scores have improved or if there’s been any tangible benefit, but it eventually comes down to practicality versus constitutionality--whether something that is good for the country is also amenable to the Constitution.

Several of my teachers have said they think it’s not a bad idea because, they say, girls are intimidated by boys in math classes and aren’t able to function well. My experience has been that competitive people are competitive people regardless of gender and will rise to the occasion no matter what environment they’re in.

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SARAH SAKIMOTO

17, senior, San Pedro High School

I’ve never been to a one-gender school but I know people who have and they seem to be able to focus on their schoolwork a lot more, instead of social things. But it seems a lot more dull, not really much fun, because when you’re around all one sex, it kind of gets monotonous.

The opinions other people have of you are kind of formed by your actions. Perhaps because I’m very outspoken, I make it evident in class what I do and do not know. I know girls who are soft-spoken and might have spoken up more if there had not been more aggressive boys in class.