Reaction: “Single Sex Education is Bad for Boys”

This isn’t the Reserverr post I promised because I was absolutely stricken with anger about this post I read in the news. It’s not the research but the horrible journalism that pains me. Rarely do I read something in the news that makes me feel that it is totally biased (perhaps because I tune into Fox’s no-spin zone [sarcasm]) and that provokes me to drop what I am doing to write about my total displeasure with The Independent.

Adults tell children not to label things. As a child, I was accused of having a black and white view of the world; things are only good or only bad. An example where this thinking does not apply would be politics: Barack Obama threatens to veto the Internet Blackout Bill. That is good (in my opinion). Barack Obama has failed to create jobs. That is bad (in my opinion). Therefore, nothing is universally good or universally bad. Psychologically defined, this thinking is called cognitive distortion and splitting.

What truly angers me is that Garner, The Independent’s education editor, has chosen to title his post with a huge label (“single-sex schools are bad for your health if you’re a boy”). Research that is due to be published tomorrow states that boys in single sex schools have a greater chance of divorce than those attending coed schools. I will assume that this is solid research.

Garner has neglected to look at the other problems that plague coed schools. Among other problems created in a coed school, the percentage of pregnant teenagers would be much lower in looking at a girls’ school (or doing a survey with boys’ attending a boys’ school). While this may be the trend of graduates of boys’ schools, I think that being aware of the trend will allow people to change themselves and recognize the problem. An example that is comparable to this would be heart disease running in families — you’re aware of it, so you can protect yourself from it.

I understand that there will always be supporters of single sex education and disapprovers, but I truly believe that some light was poorly shed on the subject, and it needed to be cleared up.