HL French

Mixed Gender Schools?

Hello everyone!

      In HL French we've been learning about education. We learned that there are schools around the world that are just for girls and some that are just for boys. There are also schools where you can spend the night. These are called "internat" in french, which is a boarding school in english. Some of us were under the impression that you only go to boarding schools when you need strict discipline. Ms. Marianne, our french teacher, taught us that there are many different reasons why children attend boarding schools. It could be to escape an unfriendly environment, to avoid bad influences or simply because you don't have transportation to and from school. We then discussed how the majority of these schools and some normal public or private schools are separated by gender, meaning girls and boys are separated. 

     There are many reasons why some parents believe that separated schools are better. In our lesson, we learned of some particular cases where parents said that they don't want boys looking at girls in their bathing suits during swim practice. Also, some believe that girls won't let boys concentrate in math class. As you all can see it's always the girls that are the distractions (which is often the case in many different cultures). I think that sometimes it can be the other way around. Although I come from a class of all girls, I was able to attend some classes with boys and girls during the summer where I learned the pros and cons of both environments. In an all girls class there is hardly any distraction because we are all the same gender (this may seem like a silly point but it's true!). But when there are girls and boys in the same class, someone always tries to be funny in order to look cool, show off, or attract attention. That's when there is a distraction. In my opinion, both girls and boys are capable of distracting. To conclude our lesson, we reflected on which type of school was better: one with girls and boys together or one with them separate. 

What do y'all think? Is it better to be in a class with girls and boys separated or a class with them together?

- Melissa S.