Resegregate (the Sexes) - American Reformer

The Advantages of Sex-Segregated Education

The developmental differences between boys and girls have long interested me as a teacher. After being in the classroom for over 20 years, I’ve become a believer in sex- segregated education. I remember gazing at a poster over lunch once displayed in a staff room in the late 90s entitled “Teach to the Sexes”. It’s laughable to expect to see anything like that now. If you try looking for books on that subject, they will more than likely try to persuade you of the opposite- that no significant differences exist. A foundational feminist book, The Second Sex, written by Simone de Beauvoir in 1949, makes exactly this claim. After all, don’t we choose our gender?

In Classical education, we like to say “we look back to look forward”. Perhaps it is worth looking back to consider how the sexes were educated in the past: children were educated separately. Bliss Charity Aided School in Northamptonshire, England, opened in 1683 for all local children in the area. I remember being there when they celebrated the 400-year anniversary; there was great pride in this long-standing tradition of education. It came complete with its own rumored ghost! At its opening, girls and boys, of course, were segregated; there was even a tall wall built between the playgrounds. Schools in Colonial times followed suit. In bigger parishes, boys and girls had different entrances, rooms, or sides of a room, and scheduled times to come and go. Only in smaller rural areas (such as the nostalgic one-room schoolhouse) were girls and boys integrated. In the UK, primary schools began to integrate around the mid-1800s for practical reasons, but secondary schools remained mostly segregated for almost a century longer. In the U.S., 98% of public high schools were coed by 1900.

Why segregate? The obvious answer lies in the differences between gender roles. Boys were preparing for futures as working citizens in such fields as the military, trade, or law. Women preparing for life domestically. In the 1800s, curricula were usually very different. Boys were typically taught more advanced academic subjects such as mathematics, science, history, and classical languages. In contrast, girls often received a more limited education that focused on basic reading, writing, and arithmetic, along with skills like sewing, music, and etiquette. Reforms eventually standardized the curricula which were offered to both sexes.

As Christians, we affirm that God created men and women uniquely as image-bearers and that gendered roles are still part of the created order. At the same time, we would see a utilitarian view of education as very narrow. Just what is the end of education? Schooling should be far more than just viewed as a process that helps propel individuals into a future career or role.

Another reason for sex segregation was to uphold proper societal norms, keeping the sexes in their proper spheres. Preserving this decency is closely connected to another reason: limiting unnecessary distractions. As a 5th-grade teacher for many years, I can attest to the fact that the hormones have officially been detonated! Often, preoccupations with runaway crushes are infectious, distracting, and can be a source of disciplinary problems.

Professionals have long documented specialized design features in boys and girls. Some of them are traits that parents and teachers know anecdotally: boys need to move more; girls can sit longer. Boys struggle with attention, girls have more self-control, and mature faster (Gilbert, 2001). They have different strengths and are drawn to different tasks. Brain scans show women using both sides of the brain while reading, while men use the left side. On IQ tests, boys tend to outperform girls in spatially related questions, and girls outperform boys in language skills. One test, the Third International Math and Science Study Achievement Test, was given in 41 countries in the mid-90s. Boys outperformed girls in almost all countries (Gilbert, 2001). Of course, there are outliers for these generalities, but I would argue that just because you have a boy who is stronger in language than math, he will still have other qualities that are uniquely “male,” for example, a need to move more or being competitive.

In recent decades, there has been an awareness that boys are short-changed when it comes to the modern institution of schooling. I wasn’t aware of this until I read Dobson’s Bringing Up Boys. Here, he outlines the ways in which they are at risk. They are expected to sit all day, yet their maturity is two years behind that of girls. They get slapped with all sorts of labels; more boys are diagnosed with learning disabilities than girls (Elias, 2025). They tend to get lower grades, more drop out, and fewer go to higher education (Dobson, 2001). Truly, schooling can feel like a round-peg-square -hole- situation. There are many spiritual, societal layers to this complex problem, but surely wouldn’t part of the solution be to consider boys’ natures when shaping a school day?

Interestingly, single-sex schools have been making a comeback (Chen, 2025). Those who advocate for single-sex schools point out that often these schools have higher student achievement and fewer discipline problems (Jackson, 2016). Sadly, this is not always feasible in the modern world. For most private Christian schools, being small and struggling to keep adequate funding, single-sex classrooms may not be a reality. Something else we like to say in Classical Education is that we seek to offer education that “cuts with the grain” of a child’s development. So why not consider what boys and girls need developmentally, their unique strengths and weaknesses, along with the “stage” when educating? Here are some considerations.

To help boys, make lessons shorter (more mini-lessons) at the start of the year with frequent “brain breaks” which involve getting out of their seats, and work towards building stamina.
Ditch the cut-and-paste sorts for a get-out-of-your-seat sort to allow movement.
Give both girls and boys opportunities to shine in their God-given way. Boys love to build and problem solve, and girls love to create something beautiful. Time can be made to do both.
I find in Literature, it benefits boys to stop frequently and process what is going on with questions or summaries, as they tend to struggle with comprehension. Be sure that the core literature books you choose will be a variety that both genders will enjoy.
To help support girls who often struggle with math, have them recite back to you the steps involved in solving a math equation. Teach them a catchy chant to remember problems with lots of steps.
Subjects that challenge, such as Math and Composition, should be done in the morning.
Consider sex segregating occasionally for projects, putting boys in pairs as they don’t work as efficiently in big groups. Sometimes I give my students a choice; 9 times out of 10, they will choose to self-segregate.
Due to the dynamic boys take on while in groups, consider a way to infuse humor into an activity. There is nothing that racks up social points for boys more than making each other laugh. Why not laugh and learn? Sometimes.
Due to the dynamic of an all-girls group, consider an activity that produces a finished product to either perform or display. Girls will take it seriously and love to make their creations fabulous.
An ideal balance is a 50-50 mix of boys and girls in a class. I have noticed that the more boys who are piled into a class, the more teachers need to reach deep into their bag of tricks to maintain control, because the dynamic is different. Do not underestimate the training required to discipline a boy-heavy class into an environment that is conducive for learning.
Consider segregating for some subjects (math and writing) if numbers allow.
Boys need more transition time between recess and class. Consider an activity that brings them into class.

Something should be said to address studies on single-sex education that compare to coed. Generally, outcomes have been mixed results, at best (Mael et al., 2005). If you look at studies done over the last decade, they are especially concerned with “gender equity” and the threat of stereotypes being promoted by same sex schools. We live in an age where studies are used coercively. I have come to my conclusions based on experience and by looking at developmental differences. All sorts of interesting implications present themselves when leaving the agendas at the door.

Lastly, I have yet to see a study that explores how students feel about their educational experiences in segregated schools. Did they enjoy it? Were they invested in it rather than feeling ambivalent or disdainful toward school? My husband attended a Catholic all-boys high school, and for a few years, he also taught at an all-girls school. There is no question in his mind about the benefits students have in such environments. Obviously, there is a time when segregation has served its purpose, and integration is beneficial. I would argue that during elementary and high school years, there are still plenty of opportunities for integration outside of school hours. Tailoring education to the sexes, it would elevate buy-in rather than fatigue. Perhaps boys would not be dropping out at such a high rate. I suggest an education that is responsive to the differences between boys and girls and, by extension, honors the Creator who made them.