Up and Coming Weekly is a weekly publication in Fayetteville, NC and Fort Bragg, NC area offering local news, views, arts, entertainment and community event and business information.
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THIS WEEK WITH MARGARET by MARGARET DICKSON When our Precious Jewels were growing up, the Dicksons began every school year with references to "adventures in education." Not that the Jewels' school experiences were much different than anyone else's. It is just that every year, every teacher, every classroom mix, every principal, every morning and every child are different, and every human being associated with education in whatever way experiences each day differently. And that is assuming the standard education most Americans went through whe n w e al l though t tha t one-siz e educatio n doe s —o r coul d — fi t all. The reality is, of course, that nothing about education is standard. Each student learns in his or her own way, and each teacher approaches the classroom in a unique manner. The variables are endless. Who feels good on Monday morning and who does not. Who has a personality confl ict with which teacher and who does not. Who did the homework and who did not. Who is social and who is shy. After generations of standardized education, we now understand that one size in education comes nowhere close to fi tting all. Cumberland County schools have done an outstanding job over the last decade or so of offering schools of varying sizes and specialized curricula in an effort to engage students in their educations by giving them something that piques their individual interests. Think Montessori and language-immersion elementary schools. Think Classical middle schools. Think specialized academies within large high schools, and high schools with rigorous academics preparing for colleges and universities and others more focused on the workplace. Our neighbors up the road in Wake County have just approved another concept we should consider — and soon. Earlier this month, the Wake school board approved two new leadership academies for grades 6-12, one for boys and one for girls. It was a divided vote, but providing this particular choice for students is a strong decision. In the interest of full disclosure, I must tell you that I attended, not exactly kicking and screaming but not exactly thrilled either, an all girl's parochial high school and an all women's college. More on that later. The National Association for Single Sex Public Education — what a mouthful! — was formed to promote single-gender education. Its website is careful not to generalize that boys and girls learn differently, because, in reality, all of us learn differently no matter our gender. What it does say and what I found in my own experience, is that single-gender education can displace the damaging stereotypes that land more boys in math and science and more girls in English and social studies. If there are only boys or only girls at school, students will gravitate toward their own interests more freely. Girls will work on computers and boys will read poetry. Both genders will play competitive sports and everybody can try out for cheerleading. Gone are the boys being silly and acting out to get girls' attention. Gone are the over made-up and scantily dressed girls hoping to snare the football captain but willing to settle for some lesser mortal. There are no performers if there is no audience. Gone, too, are the complications that go with all that attention seeking. Clothes become less fashionable plumage and more functional body covering. Gone as well is the time and energy expended on thinking about and being with folks of the opposite gender. That precious learning time can then go into other activities, like studying, reading, exploring one's interests and whatever else might occupy the teenage mind. Do not misunderstand. My own experience is that in both high school and college we talked about, wondered about, schemed about and generally fantasized about boys more than I probably remember. I am told that boys in same gender schools do the same. But I have found very few people, men or women, who were educated in this way who would change it if they could. Most seem to see their time in same-gender schools as a respite, a time away from the social pressures of growing up, a gift of time to allow themselves the chance to think and to grow closer to the adult people they turned out to be. Do not misunderstand on another point. Single-gender education is not for everyone. Many people can and do thrive in a traditional co-educational environment. For those who are interested, though, this is a strong educational option and one that a school system as large and diverse as Cumberland County's should consider offering. Just as there are students interested in other academies, there will be students interested in this choice. For the record, many of the "girls" with whom I attended high school and part of college — some now proud grandmothers, remain among my closest friends to this day. The bonds we forged as teenagers outside the company of boys have sustained us, and the educations we were able to concentrate on have enriched our lives and given us solid and rewarding careers. Quality education does come in all sizes. MARGARET DICKSON, Contributing Writer, Up & Coming Weekly, COM- MENTS? Editor@upandcomingweekly.com. THIS WEEK WITH MARGARET Girls Over Here! Boys Over There! Radio Show www.espnfay.com w WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM Hosted by Sully Monday thru Friday 4:30 - 6 p.m. 910.867.4148 SEPTEMBER 28 - OCTOBER 4, 2011 UCW 5 Fayetteville & Ft. Bragg's Radio Home For Local Sports "At The Buzzer" Listen Live!