Suchita_Vadlamani's Blog

As the new school year gets underway, some students (probably not a lot) will be heading to single sex schools. It seems like fewer and fewer people are choosing to send their kids to an all boy/girl school.

Well, from 7th through 12th grade, I attended an all girl school...6 very INTERESTING years! Let me just tell you, the "Mean Girl" quotient was exceptionally high, which made for some tough situations for the rest of us. :-) But in spite of having to navigate through all of that, I look back on middle and high school and feel it was a very valuable experience, especially from an academic perspective.

Obviously, single sex schools aren't for everyone...it all depends on the child, and each student learns differently. For me, it was definitely nice not to be preoccupied with "impressing" boys every day. Most of us(high school aged) didn't bother with makeup... and though we were allowed to have some sense of personal style, a strict dress code kept the "fashion parade" from getting out of hand (not that kids back then were into dressing up like today's teens...we were all pretty dorky and clueless. in fact, i'm amazed and sometimes concerned by how "mature" many highschoolers look now! ) Not having to worry about all of that helped many of us to focus, even excel in the classroom. It encouraged us to speak our minds, think independently, share our views and assume leadership positions...a real confidence booster. Apparently, studies have also shown that girls in that environment are more likely to take an interest in math and science.

Anyway, a few years after I graduated, my school merged with the boy's school next door and became co-ed. It has since expanded significantly and gotten even stronger in terms of resources, faculty, academics, etc. A sign that single sex schools may be a fading trend in education....