Should All Schools Go Co-Ed?

Based on Canberra Grammar's recent decision to welcome female students, we asked our members: Should all schools go co-ed? Here's one response.

When I enter the classroom on any given midweek morning, I am greeted by students of both genders.

Yes, that’s right. I’m one of those co-ed kids. I go to your everyday public high school where student behaviours can only be described as average. But at least it’s authentic and prepares young people for the real world.

The same cannot be said about single-gender education. At co-ed schools, students get the opportunity to interact with a whole range of different personalities. They can better discover how to work with others and understand how to manage and overcome conflicts.

Sure, single-gender schools might be full of more similar minded people, but where’s the fun in that? It’s unrealistic to believe that separating children based on gender in the school environment will be beneficial to students.

By containing them in a perfect bubble at school and then expecting them to know how to behave outside of it, we are setting them up for failure. They won’t develop necessary communication skills without having experiences that only co-education can provide.

I know what you’re thinking. Aren’t mixed gender schools full of distractions? Well, to a certain extent, yes. For heterosexual adolescents, time may very well be spent trying to impress the opposite gender or exploring relationships. However, this is an important aspect of growing up. It’s vital that young people have the opportunity to explore their sexuality as they go through puberty.

Regardless, I think you’d be surprised how little most students’ educations revolve around relationships, if at all. As for students who identify with different sexualities to heterosexuality, they’re going to be distracted either way. Also, keep in mind that attending a single-gender school doesn’t mean you won’t be exploring relationships elsewhere.

I don’t understand why we aren’t realising that the whole concept of single-gender education is outdated. Society has become more intelligent since the “old days” and our social awareness has increased in kind. We are slowly progressing towards a more accepting and less ignorant society. Consider the issue with gender identity and single-gender schools. What about people who don’t fit into the gender norms and who don’t identify as the gender they were assigned at birth? Who are, say, agender or genderfluid? Are they expected to go to a single-gender school?

A friend of mine is a transgender teenage girl and yet she was denied entry into an all-girls college. This kind of gender discriminatory education is not something I feel comfortable supporting. It is evident that co-ed schools have much more to offer than single-gender education. That’s why it’s outrageous that we’re still supporting schools that do not accommodate all genders. It’s well beyond time we phase them out and make the permanent move to solely co-ed schools.

And if for some reason you’ve still got doubts, I can assure you that I, with my mixed-gender education, am turning out more than okay.

Congratulations to Emma for winning this writing challenge, answering: Should All Schools Go Co-Ed? Emma wins a $50 Westfield gift card for her submission. For your chance to win, check out our latest writing challenges in our Comps section. Also, be sure to follow this guide on how to win the writing challenge!