Breaking the one size fits all mold
In schools across the country, one option being explored is that of single-sex education. (See DC’s First All-Girls Public Charter School Opens) Some see this as a wonderful opportunity for students to be in learning environments where they feel most comfortable, while others view it in a much more negative light, throwing accusations of discrimination.
But, as Allison Kasic, the director of the R. Gaull Silberman Center for Collegiate Studies at the Independent Women’s Forum explains in “Kentucky battle highlights need for school choice,” the beauty of choices is that everyone has the opportunity to find something that best meets their own unique needs.
Indeed, on several measures, support for greater choice in education is growing. Parents, in large number, are sick and tired of the same one-size- fits-all public education system. They crave more flexibility and control over where, and under what circumstances, their children are taught.
If the recent debate in Kentucky teaches us anything, it isn’t that single-sex education is good or bad, but that we desperately need more choice in education.
Under a system of increased school choice, whether it is through vouchers, charter schools, or tax credits, parents need not agree on whether single-sex education is right for everybody. In a true education marketplace, there would be a vast diversity of schooling options, each catering to different learning styles, teaching techniques, and student body make-up. For once, parents would have real options regarding the education of their children, which hopefully we can all agree, would be a good thing.
