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BURLINGTON, N.C. — Do boys and girls learn differently?
Hillcrest Elementary School in Burlington believes they do and is testing out that theory with gender-segregated classes, WGHP reports.
Third-graders at the school will be separated in their core classes; there will be one class for all boys and one class for all girls. They will have the opportunity to interact with the opposite gender in homeroom, specials and recess.
“This year we thought, let’s try something different. See if we can make a difference,” teacher Karen Allen told WGHP. Allen is teaching one of the grouped classes.
The practice is based on the idea that boys and girls may learn differently. The school conducted a lot of research on the subject prior to putting it into effect in two of their classrooms.
“Boys tend to be more active learners, and the girls are often more shy,” Allen said. “So we just are putting things in place to meet those needs of students.”
Teachers said they hope by better being able to cater to the needs of students, they can improve test scores.
Not everyone is on board with the decision.
“You can’t learn to properly socialize with one another if you’re segregated from one another,” said Katie Burnette, whose daughter is in the all-girls class. “My daughter’s been taught repeatedly there are no girl toys, there are no boy toys. No girl jobs, no boy jobs. I don’t differentiate in gender. So her first question was, ‘Mommy, why are we all together and then we get taken apart?'”
Burnette said she was not notified ahead of time about the change and wants the option to move her daughter into a coed class.
“They’re blatantly experimenting on our children,” Burnette said.
In fact, this isn’t the first time the school district has used classes grouped by gender, Hillcrest’s principal said.
Most parents have responded positively to the arrangement, Hillcrest teachers said. Teachers said they are already noticing improvements in student learning.
