Co-Ed for secondary school?

[ladybird11]

It's far away time wise, but dh and I worked out the savings budget we'd need to send the kids to the local catholic college last night; and it generated some discussion about co-Ed vs same gender secondary schools.

Just seeking everyone else's ideas as we ended up sitting on the fence lol.

I've been to both types of secondary schools and found it less distracting iykwim at the same gender college, though my grades remained similar.

Please share your thoughts, ideas with me !

[Lenny]

I only went co-ed. I had a brother and sister at the same school. There are plenty of studies out there (plenty!) about the benefits of single sex or co-ed.
Personally i only have my experience to go on, and i loved my school and it seemed normal to have guys and girls together. I honestly didn't find it distracting.

Do teachers in single sex schools actually use different teaching methods - or does the different teaching environment stem solely from the absence of the opposite gender?

[ladybird11]

I think the teaching is the same, it's just the opposite gender that caused the distractions and led to a different environment.

I'm certainly not trying to shelter my kids, I just figure if I'm paying good $$$ for education I want them to gain the most from it, iykwim?

[toomanyshoes]

I was all girls for 7-10 (high school) and co ed for 11-12 (college).

IMHO all girls can be very very b*tchy and not a nice place but I know girls who have been in that situation and had a great time. For me my co ed years were much easier to handle and less stressful.

I really don't see the need for single sexed schools, each to their own but life isn't all girls or all boys. At uni it will be co ed, at work it will be the same and I think its better they get use to being around "normal" situations.

Some girls I went to school with who went from all girls to co ed went off the rails and didn't handle it well but of course others fitted in easily.

[misty]

I prefer co-ed because to me school isn't just about education, but also socialisation. And having known people all my life who have gone through both types, generally those who go through co-ed are beeter at interacting, understanding and maintaining 'friendships' (without romantic involvement) with the other sex (very improtant once they reach the workforce). Particularly in the case of those males I know.

Of course this is all generalisations though, and it would very much depend on the individual child and their involvement with the other gender outside of the echool setting as well. Some kids who attend single sex schools have no problems in that regard.

[Nai]

I think it depends on the child and the family situation too. My girls will not be going to a single sex school - unless of course for some reason it is recommended for them further down the track. Not having brothers I think means that i would like them to have male contact with their peer group in a normal social situations, which I don't think single sex schools provide.

I went to a co-ed school for that very reason and still have many male friends that I made during that time. I also think that my relationships with boys was much more balanced than most of the girls from the single sex school - they tended to get a bit silly around the boys. But that's just my experience and my best friend went to an all girls school and she turned out fine (although she played judo all her life so was surrounded by many brother-type figures and male friends) - so it depends on what is going on outside the school as well.