Essay: The advantages and disadvantages of co-education
I study in a co-education school. In my class there are about twenty boys and twelve girls. We learn many things one another in the course of being in the same class everyday. Sometimes the interaction is pleasant and sometimes not. In other words co-education has its good points and bad points, that is, its advantages and disadvantages.
The main advantage that I can see is that we learn that boys are different from girls in many ways. In short, we learn how to handle each other. Boys tend to be more physical, while girls are far gentler. However this is not a universal rule, for tom-boys do exist in our class and they pack a harder wallop than some sissies who also exist in our class. Anyhow I learn that the two sexes behave generally in fixed manners although there are exceptions.
I suppose this sort of interaction will come in useful in the future when boys and girls become men and women who will produce the next generations. I am a boy and I have to admit that I learn a lot about how to handle both boys and girls. I have a friend who studies in an all-boys’ school. He always asks me how I handle the girls. He is quite ignorant about girls, for I have seen him being tongue-tied in front of girls. None of my classmates have such a problem.
The one big disadvantage about having boys and girls in the same class is when we go for physical education. Boys and girls just cannot do the same type of exercise or play the same game together. So we need to have two teachers, one for the boys and one for the girls. Our headmaster has come up with the ingenious solution of having two classes doing P.E. at the same time so that the boys and girls from each class combine together under one teacher each.
Another advantage of a co-education school becomes obvious when the school holds the school sports, concerts and other functions. In sports a co-education school can see full participation from both sexes. Also the harder physical work of preparing for a sports meet can be done by the boys while the gentler tasks of preparing food and drinks as well as serving guests are best left to the girls. The boys and girls get to learn their social roles.
In concerts and other functions it is undoubted that both boys and girls are needed. In a co-education school there is no problem of finding the persons to take part. However in an all-boys’ or an all-girls’ school, they will have to “borrow” the necessary boys or girls in order to run their functions. I myself and other boys have had to go and serve our all-girls neighbor for some of their functions. I have to admit I thoroughly enjoyed my duties there, for the girls there really appreciate our help thus lavishing their attention on us. I suspect that they enjoy our being there too.
Our girls too get to go and help out at an all-boys’ school. I am sure they enjoy themselves too.
I have not studied in an all-boys’ school before so I do not really know what sort of situation exists there. However I would not change my place here for anything else. It is definitely better to have girls around than to see only boys everyday.
