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barbsy · Super Member Joined: 19 Jun 2007 Posts: 570

Boys need to be taught separately from the age of five, says expert
By SARAH HARRIS - More by this author »

Last updated at 09:12am on 23rd January 2008

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Boys need to be taught separately from girls from the age of five to prevent them being damaged by the education system, an expert claimed yesterday.

Dr Leonard Sax argues that boys are "turned off" by starting formal education too soon when they are expected to sit down and keep quiet in class.

And, because they develop at different rates to girls, they can be discouraged from learning while very young when sat alongside female classmates.

Dr Sax, a research psychologist in the U.S., claims this has led to an epidemic of unmotivated boys and under-achieving young men.

He said: "With boys you have to start right away. If you wait until secondary school, you have waited too long. From the age of five, there are clear advantages in all-boys' education when teachers know how to take advantage of it."

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An education expert believes boys develop slower than girls and are put off learning in mixed classrooms

He believes girls also benefit from single-sex education because they can concentrate on subjects such as maths, which is traditionally seen as a "male" interest.

At present, single sex education is concentrated in the independent sector. Dr Sax wants more state primary and secondary schools to offer single sex classes.

He added: "Boys and girls' brains develop along profoundly different timetables.

"It might be appropriate to ask five-year-old girls to sit still and be quiet in class, but for many five-year-old boys it's not developmentally appropriate.

"The message they get at five is that doing well in school is something that girls do."

Young boys become afraid of being seen as "swots". However, in single sex classes they are more likely to see getting good grades as "cool".

Dr Sax, the author of a new book, Boys Adrift, argues that boys are suffering a "toxic" mix of failing to be engaged by the curriculum, overuse of video games, lack of competitive sport at school and over-prescription of attention disorder drugs.

He said: "The video game world is more real to them than the world of homework and grades."

He suggested parents limit the amount of time boys spend playing these games to no more than 40 minutes on school days.

• Diplomas for sixth-formers will not wash with top universities

Leading universities look like shunning the Government's controversial diploma programme for sixth-formers.

Almost four in ten admissions tutors say it is unlikely they would accept applicants with diplomas because they do not believe students will be adequately prepared for the rigours of university study.

Students' specialised learning and critical skills could be "inadequate", says the 1994 Group, which represents 19 top universities.

The criticism is a setback for ministers who want diplomas, which will be taught to 40,000 pupils from September, to become an accepted alternative to A-levels

Speeds · Posted: Wed Jan 23, 2008 8:39 pm Post subject:

Thanks Barbs

As one who was schooled (state) in all girls from age 7 to 18 I can say that I was always pleased not to have boys around. I was mixed socially at 16 at Sixth Form which was great - breaks and lunch but lessons without boys.

I know there are so many pros and cons but I would prefer Thomas to be schooled from 11 in single sex with social girl interaction. I am lucky that the school he is at the moment is very conscious of social development for girls and boys and socially streams (for want of a better word) children as well as academically.
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