Dear Parent,
We will begin the 2007-2008 school year on Tuesday, Sept 4,2007. Class time for Kindergarten classes is from 8:00 to 2:30.
Your Child has been assigned to room 23 with Mrs. Jones.
Students and parents are invited to come to the school and "Meet the Teacher" on Tuesday, August 28th. Kindergarten girls and their parents will meet in their respective rooms at 9 A.M. Kindergarten boys and their parents will meet in their respective rooms at 10:30 A.M. If you arrive early, please wait in the cafeteria.
Thank You for your attention to the important items above. We are looking forward to having your child in our school.
Sincerely,
Lina Moore
Principal
Okay if you've been here before you know which sentence made me go, Wait. What?
The question is how many of you would be Mom who comes to the first day of school with a problem? Or would you wait and see if they divide genders for math and reading and then step in and ask what the basis for gender segregation is?
Is it appropriate to divide the class, if it is simply too large, by gender?
Some studies that suggest these divisions are actually academically better for girls. One study of science classes found that 79% of teachers picked boys in a mixed gender class (Growing a Girl: Seven Strategies for Raising a Strong, Spirited Daughter
Is gender an appropriate division in public school?
4 comments:
That seems very odd. I have never heard of such a system in PS.
Here's my take on the situation (from my experience having a child in public school for the past 5 years)...
They needed to divide the class into two groups. Perhaps the teachers felt overwhelmed in the past with that many adults and childen in a small classroom. They probably put less than 2 minutes into the planning and execution of the letter. Dividing the group into "boys and girls" was probably their first idea on how to divide up the class into two different times. From what I've seen, planning and then giving parents ample time to allow for our schedules is not their stengths. I also like the way they assume everyone can make it on a Tuesday morning during the work week.
It does sound strange - but maybe parents of girls have different problems to parents of boys and they will be addressing these problems separately?
I am guessing they just did this as an easy way to divide the class in half.
I had to comment bc I too am going "whoa". This lack of thought is, sady, a reality of the public school system in which I have taught the last ten years.
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