Jake+Howard

=My Notes=

[|single sex classrooms] At Kingstree Junior High, a class of girls learn storytelling techniques through fairy tales in classrooms with softer-spoken teachers. The desks are arranged in groups, and the girls are face to face. The temperature is set a little bit warmer and the colors are brighter--yellow and greens.

Boys spend their time in classrooms decorated in gray and blue. In some classes, they shoot basketball hoops as a reward for getting a question right, and take breaks to simply tap their pencils.

When social studies teacher Glen Matthews needs his 7th grade class of all boys to complete an assignment, he activates a stopwatch and counts down. "Boys perform better under stress," he said.

At Kingstree, boys and girls are separated in the four core classes of language arts, math, science, and social studies. Since the program began in August 2006, no parent has asked to have a child put in a coed class. In just one year, school officials report improved test scores and fewer behavior problems.

Those results seem to echo a statewide survey the South Carolina Department of Education conducted in late 2007 of students in single-gender classes. The voluntary survey, done by students on computer, showed that three-quarters of the 1,700 students who completed the survey (boys and girls responded in nearly equal numbers) thought the single-gender classes had improved their performance. Four out of five girls--a slightly higher proportion than among the boys--thought those classes had raised their self-confidence.

"Boys," he said, "are harder. They're always wanting to move around. But they're into sports, so I try to bring in news articles to make class more interesting. "Girls are easy. They're more traditional," said Mr. Hearn. "They're really into family relationships, so I try to make class more personal." Boys, especially in elementary school, said they liked being away from the girls because there's "too much drama" when they're around. And girls said they worry less about being made fun of with just girls around. "In math, the girls participate more and speak up more," said Kingstree 8th grader Kadijah Houston. Many single-gender advocates also argue that there are differences in how boys and girls learn best. For instance, boys may learn better under pressure and when allowed to move around, they say, while girls may perform better in group situations and with a lot of encouragement.

[|school uniforms] The shift to uniforms in the public schools is gaining momentum nationwide and sparking disquiet in some quarters as administrators grapple with ways to reduce competition over designer labels, minimize the violence associated with gang clothing and colors and improve the learning environment. Some even argue that uniforms aid in the retention of students by creating higher attendance, increased test scores and fewer disciplinary problems in fact, I played a role in changing the dress code in 1969 in my high school so that girls could wear pants. Now I'm an educator and I know things are very different. We have serious problems with gangs here. . . and with children dressing according to colors, or wannabes, etc. Kids are getting mugged for what they wear. . . . I think uniforms may be just the trick, and rather simpler than suspension. . . to end some of this nonsense. Who can keep up with all the trends, and frankly, safety is more important." I was able to get from a vendor of uniforms, delivery of uniforms directly to the students at the school, and desirable clothing to be part of the uniform. . . . My school is in a gang infested neighborhood and there is NO gang clothing on campus. The entire feeling tone which exists around the school is very positive -- it feels like a warm, caring place to be. uniforms save money Reasons cited for interest in a policy included the need to teach students that clothes do not make a person, wearing uniforms has had a positive impact on school climate. Magee said where she once saw about 25 to 30 kids a day lined up for late slips after the morning bell, now there are about two or three. "The children no longer have to worry about what they're going to wear to school , Test scores throughout the entire school have increased. And disruptions between students who are bused out and those on campus have subsided. "It's the pride that the children have. To see the little guys coming to school with belts, hair slicked back, the smiles on their faces. They just seem to show so much more pride," Richardson said. The principal responded with a letter saying she wanted the school to be like a team, just like a football team or a cheerleading squad, where all of the team members wore the same thing.

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