The cover story on today's Boston Globe (2008) notes an experiment in Boston's schools with single-sex education. These classes are intended to address an achievement gap between boys and girls. Girls in Boston, like the rest of the nation, tend to do better in school. Several Boston-area schools have piloted single-sex science and math classes, although the gap in English is larger. This year, the Umana Middle School Academy (a public school) has selected students for a math and english program that the Globe calls a "flirt-free zone." Although some mention is made of "different learning styles", the focus of the article is on intentional distraction of the opposite sex by students.
I can't get away from gender topics, even when I want to. I'm taking a day off from work today, so I went to the bagel place for breakfast. The cover story on the newspaper is about single-sex classrooms. The muzak is playing Surf City (Two girls for every boy). The only man I've seen working here is the manager. On the other hand, gender issues feel so irrelevant next to race and class issues: the two managers are also the only white people I've see working here. And the race and class gaps in Boston's schools aren't addressed in today's newspaper (although a link is provided to a "education gap" story about urban vs. suburban schools from last month (2008).
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