Nala Cyriac
Mr. Cohen
ELS20
11th of September
How Well Written is the Article Provided?
The article, The Resurgence of Single-Sex Education, is a well written article. It is made for an older, more educated audience that goes into this with prior knowledge of the topic already who would like to learn more about this topic. This article includes many important factors that make up a great, informative piece of factual writing: expert opinions, figures and statistics, facts, rhetorical questions, repetition, and the writer’s own personal opinion. All of these are used correctly to support the information given.
“Proponents often point to school experiences documented in landmark reports like The American Association of University Women’s “How Schools Shortchange Girls” as evidence of widespread inequities faced by girls in mixed classrooms. [...] Conversely, opponents claim single-sex education perpetuates traditional gender roles [...] while neuroscientists refute the merits of gender differences between girl and boy brains.” (Anderson, The Resurgence of Single-Sex Education)
This not only brings up reliable sources and cites them, it also summarises the main points and conveys them in a digestible manner for an already educated audience that understands parts of the topic but not all. This quotation also shows that this article takes points from its previous sentences, takes some of the same ideas or key words and expands on them. Another quotation to prove that this is a well written article would be this:
“With the exception of your brief stint in an all-girls school, The Separation Solution? lacks input from current students or alumni of K-12 single-sex schools. Could their perspectives have expanded your analysis of single-sex education?” (Anderson, The Resurgence of Single-Sex Education)
In this example, it has a few of the remaining techniques that were mentioned earlier to create a compelling and informative article. This brings up new ideas and introduces the writer’s own personal opinion on the matter, touching on new ideas and using a rhetorical question to really make you think about the topic. In conclusion, the writer really showed that they knew and understood the topic themselves and provided information to back up their points as well as making it distinctive and understandable; all qualities that made this article well written.
Single sex schools may have been created with the best of intentions but it may not be delivering the same qualities that make co-ed schools so appealing to so many people. People who support the practice of single sex schools are rooted in one firm belief, according to OurKids:
“Supporters of the single-sex model say that, because studies show boys and girls learn differently, they should be in a school that caters to those needs and single-sex schools consider these differences to create customized programs that optimize success.” (OurKids, Coed classrooms versus single-sex classrooms)
While this is true, it is also important for all students to practice interacting with members of the opposite gender. Due to the Covid pandemic, this saw that many schools were shut down or transitioned to online learning for several years. During this time, many students had difficulties with the lack of social interaction. While at single sex schools you are still getting to meet new people, you don’t get the same variation. Meeting all genders allows individuals to learn and grow and develop different ways to interact with people based on their personality, you just don’t get this at a single sex school.
“Your freshman year at the Philadelphia High School for Girls, an all-girls public magnet for academically gifted students, is compared to “serving time in prison,” (Anderson, The Resurgence of Single-Sex Education)
Some students who experienced the single sex education model really enjoyed it while others did not. I think that it is really up to personal preference but based on my own experience, I believe that it is beneficial to meet and interact with everyone, from every gender.
Work cited
Anderson, Melinda D. “The Benefits and Limitations of Single-Sex Education.” The Atlantic, 22 December 2015, https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2015/12/the-resurgence-of-single-sex-education/421560/. Accessed 11 September 2023.
“Coed education versus single sex schools.” OurKids.net, https://www.ourkids.net/school/together-or-apart. Accessed 11 September 2023.
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