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这个是PLC Sydney校长的文章，发表在The Australian： https://www.theaustralian.com.au ... e4e687ca041dae04adb 我赞同他说的各种学校都有是一件好事，父母要/可以给孩子选择适合他们的学校。 In writing this article about the strengths of a single-sex education, in particular, one for girls, I am somewhat conflicted; not with the subject matter, but with the notion that I have to generalise for all children. The gender of the students is not the only, nor necessarily the most important factor, in school choice for an individual family. It is good to have single sex girls’, single sex boys’ and coeducational schools in our society. Individual students will flourish in different settings. This is also why it is good to have government, Catholic and independent schools. We need a variety of schools where young people can think freely, feel connected to others, where their own beliefs are valued, where they know a few friends, or where they can engage in different approaches to learning. One size does not fit all. Parents are wise to select a school that suits their own child. While I have visited more than 200 schools, and have served as an educator in junior and senior schools and at university, at coeducational, boys’ and girls’ schools, my last 13 years have been as principal of PLC Sydney, a school with about 1530 girls, with ages ranging from four to 18. I do not presume that PLC Sydney is the same as all other schools for girls, but there are commonalities. The joy in a single sex school is in what is possible. Every day I observe girls and young women really engaging with and enjoying their learning, without all of the implicit challenges that come to them when they learn alongside boys. When it comes to girls accomplishing their potential there is no substitute for an all girls’ education. The amount of time girls spend on task, engaged in learning, able to take risks, is much greater in a single sex environment. Without boys about, it is my experience that the vast majority of girls and young women commit with an impressive level of consistency to their studies, which enables them to achieve better outcomes. PLC Sydney sends many female engineers, mathematicians and scientists into our community as more girls select STEM subjects in a single sex environment. Girls enjoy the collaborative, the creative and the ordered classroom. In a coeducational school, many will not be self-conscious in the presence of boys, but many will be. Free from feeling like they are in competition with boys, girls commit with gusto to mathematics, English and science, as well as to drama, speech, art and sport. All different types of girls can take the lead in expressing themselves. I have found an abiding generosity exists at PLC Sydney. Academic notes are shared. Students help each other. I am sure principals of other girls’ schools see these qualities in their schools too. It is my view that it is the academic progress students make in Years 9-10 that really sets them up for success later in schooling and at university. Too often schools allow students to drift in these years. This is the period when coeducational classrooms are at their most challenging. Everyone is in the long, dark tunnel of puberty, and students are looking for self-actualisation. Some find it in learning but many find it in impressing peers. Coeducational classrooms can become boisterous and boys are often at the centre of this. In an all-girls’ school, young women are given the opportunity to deepen and broaden their learning at this important time. PLC Sydney uses an enrichment program, an extensive co-curricular program, and we add the challenge of Cambridge courses from Year 9. Girls can investigate and collaborate and try something new. It brings joy. It strengthens them. On the sporting field and in the pool, without watching eyes, our young women give their all. Without an audience of male peers, they commit themselves to their football and hockey, diving and swimming, tennis and badminton. It is in the crucial late primary, and the early and middle years of senior school that these benefits are seen. I am sure my colleagues at boys’ school would say something similar. Boys’ only schools can set up their structures and priorities to help their students flourish. As a society we want all young people to flourish. The academic results of all girls’ schools (and many boys’ schools) are evidence for the success of single sex models. Consistently, students in all girls’ schools perform very well in external exams. And the learning isn’t shallow, “for the test” learning. PLC Sydney is not an academic hothouse, and while our students do very well at university, our model is to provide a rich and broad education, with many opportunities for all of our students. This helps us limit rivalry and unhealthy competition. Other girls’ schools and other boys’ school have a similar model. It is my experience that there is a consistent strength and joy in schools for girls. |
