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<p>The most important words in this article. For some kids, single-sex classes are a really good idea. But (like everything in education), they’re not the right choice for every kid. Forcing them on every kid, and doing so without input from teachers and community members, is going to create new problems.</p>
<p>To introduce a new perspective: same-sex environments tend to reinforce norms of sex and gender, whether consciously or unconsciously. This educational setup may be a really bad choice for students who are LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or queer), opening the door for harassment, intimidation, or ostracism of kids who are or seem different. Imagine the frustration and misery of a gay, bisexual, or questioning student trying to deal with identity issues, coming out, and dating at a single-sex high school, or a transgender/gender-nonconforming student forced to learn and socialize in a single-sex environment for twelve years. For that matter, imagine the frustration of any straight, cisgender (not transgender) kid who is separated from friends who are of a different sex, told that they can’t handle the “distraction” of the opposite sex, or told that they have to attend certain classes because their sex predisposes them to learn in a certain way.</p>
<p>To be sure, some of these are issues at any school. But they are much bigger issues in single-sex classes, established on the basis of generalizations and expectations about gender and sexuality. Like any generalizations, these contain a measure of truth - but they aren’t true for everyone, and it’s damaging to impose them on everyone.</p>