Separate but Equal

The government has issued its final rules on how it will enforce Title 9 which deals with antidiscrimination. Title 9 says you cannot treat people separately. This is the same law that allowed girl’s sports teams to sue school for equal funding. Under the new rule change, the local school systems now have discretion to implement same sex classes, grade or even schools.
This has been banned for decades. In 1975, some same sex classes were allowed. These were basically sports classes or sex education classes.The test examples have shown that same sex classes result in better student achievements. Another benefit is less discipline problems. Same sex classes make it easier to get girls to be more competitive and boys to cooperate more.
It had been widely accepted that girls with defer to boys and so teachers give boys more attention in class. With separation, boys and girls test scores have become closer. Girls are enrolling in higher education at a higher rate and they are earning more bachelor degrees than boys.
Classes teach the same principles in these pilot programs. They do use different examples for the girls and boys. In the math classes, teachers for the girls use shopping examples to teach. The boy’s teachers use sports related examples. This recognizes the fact that boys and girls learn differently. Girls tend to ask questions and boys will wait before asking for fear they will look less smart. One girl commented, ‘I like math more now that the boys are no longer in the class room. Boys are a distraction and goof off.’
The new guidelines take effect this Friday 11-24-06. This should increase the number of schools participating from the 253 present today. The requirements state that classes:
* must be geared for achievement
* must be geared towards creating diverse experience to meet the
particular needs of students (?????)
* they must treat girls and boys equally
* must be voluntary
* must offer the same subjects

The critics say this is a step backwards. The national Organization for Women says this creates a risk of breeding a 2nd class citizen. The American Association of University Women declares this will throw out the basic legal standards for sex discrimination and there is little evidence it helps.
The ACLU sued a Louisiana junior high that had planned to separate the genders. They say the plan violated Title 9, which requires equal treatment foe boys and girls for any institution that receive s federal funding.
Now this sounds like the 1890’s law requiring separate but equal. This time the separate is not by race but by gender. Where the example from history used the words equal between the races, but never really meant equal. Maybe this will mean equal treatment between the genders. If so, then maybe it will prove our forefathers right. Separate but Equal DOES work.