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Overheard: On Single Sex Schools

At the dinner table:

ME: Jane, I’m going to start looking at some schools, should we look at Immaculate Heart?

JANE: Ooh, Joe’s sisters go there don’t they play hockey?

ME: Yeah, it’s a great school for sports, but you’d have to apply for 6th grade, there’s a few other girls schools we can look at if you want.

HUSBAND: Girls schools?

ME: Immaculate Heart is an all girls school, there’s also Archer, and Marlborough and…

HUSBAND: Why don’t we just buy a pole now and a pair of dancing shoes?

ALEXANDER: What’s the pole for?

And for once, I wasn’t the bad parent.

For the record, I think single sex educations can be terrific for the right kid.

10 thoughts on “Overheard: On Single Sex Schools”

  1. Marlborough

    We had some good times with the girls from there and Westlake. They were pretty wild. Of course that is a million years ago now so things have probably changed. Not to mention that Westlake no longer exists on its own.

  2. So true that for the right kid, girls’ schools can be a transformative and empowering experience. Look at the recent research out of UCLA and you’ll see that girls’ school graduates have an edge over their coed peers. I’m not aware of any chances to learn pole dancing, Jane’s Dad, but if you care about academic achievement and leadership opportunities for your daughter.

  3. I’ve heard things about those Archer girls. Naughty, naughty. The Chaminade girls aren’t any better, either (Pregnancy scares galore). And don’t get my started on those Marymount girl – the boys at Loyola like to go Mary-Mounting from time to time.

    Yay, single-sex schools!

  4. I went to both girls’ schools and co-ed schools and having experienced both I wouldn’t send my daughter to a single sex school. Although you might end up with better academic results at a single sex school I think you lose out on the social aspects of development. After all, you don’t have the option of going to a single sex workplace.

  5. I went to an all-girls high school (Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy), and I think I turned out fine. Every school, no matter single-sex or coed, has the hoes, the nerds, the theatre geeks, the ethnic kids, etc. In the end, you turn out the way your parents raised you, independent of whether there were boys in your history class. That said, I didn’t LOVE my experience at an all-girls school, but anyone who really liked their high school years either didn’t go to college or has a seriously stunted personality. Also, it was MY experience. I didn’t know any other. So when people ask what it was like, I just say it was high school. Now all-boys schools are a different story. My brother and three cousins went to an all-boys school, and I can tell you it’s a terrible idea.

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