<p>Length: 3.5 pages handwritten, medium-large sized font. 560 words. Yes, I know its a little awkwardly written.
Prompt: Should males and females be separated in the classroom?</p>
<p>Males and females are vital components of the classroom; without one group, the other will lose an important aspect of its education. The separation of males and females in a high school classroom is not something that should be widely pursued. In fact, this divide would further the impact of gender roles in society, discourage varying input in class discussions, and set back students in different disciplines.</p>
<p>While high school students are hormonally-galvanized individuals, there are other distractions in the classroom beyond male-female socialization. According to a study conducted by the College Board, single-sex institutions have equal distraction in their classrooms as do their coeducational peers. Therefore, creating isolated learning environments would only be futile.</p>
<p>However, creating different classrooms for males and females would result in the establishment of gender roles in society. Female students would be at risk for being treated differently from their male counterparts. As much as a school would like to prevent this form of prejudice, people are naturally conditioned to isolate groups and assign labels to them. Separating males from females is synonymous to dividing people based on their race, demographics, and heritage things they have no control over. While there are single-sex institutions, these programs do not separate internally, as would a school that distinguishes male and female classrooms. Simply put, instituting this gender schism would foster unwanted bias within an already multifaceted community.</p>
<p>Moreover, students benefit from mutual exchange in the classroom. They gain insight from different perspectives. Although it is wrong to assign all males tone pattern of thought, it is scientifically proven that women think differently from men. In an era where schools across all disciplines are trying to bring in people from different backgrounds to foster an exchange of diverse ideas, is it not counterproductive to break this collaboration? Instead of separating males and females, shouldnt schools attempt to establish meccas of learning? At its simplest, diversity can be achieved through simple difference in gender. Before age, ethnicity, and financial status are even considered, gender is the most feasible way to have diversity in the classroom. Eliminating this existing diversity would be detrimental to obtaining an eclectic base of knowledge.</p>
<p>Finally, within the last century, females have been consistently viewed as stronger in humanities and weaker in the sciences. In fact, there has always been this sense of academic inferiority lingering over the years. Now, in a progressive age where women are being brought into fields such as engineering so that they can minimize the academic difference, it would be retroactive to separate males and females in different subjects. Both groups would be set back to a learning style ubiquitous in the 1950s. Separating males and females would be counterproductive to the entire country, one that depends on the education of its younger generations and has worked so hard to establish equality.</p>
<p>The separation of males and females is not, in any case, an absolutely necessary change. As examined in its generation of bias, lack of educational exchange, and retroactive ways, it is, indeed, not practical or beneficial to have gender separation in schools. Instead, more energy should be focused towards improving the sharing of ideas within the classroom from people of all backgrounds.</p>