When it comes to your daughter’s education, you have some tough decisions to make. While the main point of sending any child to school is to imbue her with the knowledge and skills required to enter into adulthood and the career of her choice, most parents also depend on the school environment for socialization, where children learn how to interact with peers in a manner that is appropriate and socially acceptable. Unfortunately, certain types of socializing may not only hinder your daughter’s education, but also undermine her confidence and happiness. The question is, do you want to risk having your daughter miss out on gender education that occurs at co-ed schools on the off-chance that she could be damaged by receiving her education in a mixed-gender setting?
The real trouble is that there are pros and cons to each position. An all-girls school, on the one hand, may allow your daughter more of a childhood and grant her the opportunity for greater focus on her studies. The reason is that boys are often a distraction for girls (and vice versa), especially as children enter adolescence. As hormones flare and bodies begin to change, members of the opposite sexes will start to notice each other and this could interfere with scholarly pursuits. Dating and breakups (not to mention sexual experimentation) can lead to issues both emotional and physical that perhaps you’d rather avoid, at least until your daughter is older.
Furthermore, there is an issue of gender competition to address. Despite the fact that women in today’s society have greater opportunities for success in the working world than ever before, our society can still be deemed patriarchal. The academic reality of this situation becomes apparent in girls aged preteen and up, when the proclivity for math and science suffers a radical drop-off. As girls become aware of prevailing gender roles (and their own femininity), they often lose interest in these historically male-dominated fields. Although this trend is slowly changing, it’s hard not to argue with the statistics. In a setting where your daughter is only facing female competition, she is free to shine at any subject she chooses, regardless of societal norms.
On the other hand, you may feel that socialization that excludes half of your daughter’s peer group is unacceptable. After all, she’s going to have to learn how to interact with boys eventually, and a lifetime of social interaction in the relatively safe and controlled environment of an institution of learning may seem preferable to throwing her into a college dorm without any supervision as her first mixed-gender experience. After all, you want her to feel comfortable interacting with men (and more importantly, saying no to them) before she is fielding propositions at a frat kegger.
In truth, you’re going to have to decide which route will better suit the needs of your daughter, but whether you’re from California, Nebraska, or New York, you can pretty much bet that at some point your little girl will grow up and become interested in boys. It’s up to you to prepare her for that eventuality and ensure that she has the knowledge and confidence she needs to make good decisions about her social life (and her education). If you can do that, she should do excel in all of her endeavors no matter what school she attends.
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