A Critical Review Essay Research Paper A

A Critical Review Essay, Research Paper A Critical Review For years our nation has been debating over the benefits that coeducational schools have versus non-coeducational schools. There are many different perspectives on the subject. Some people believe that girls face harsh environments while seated next to boys in the classroom. The author of The Trouble With Single-Sex Schools, Wendy Kaminer feels otherwise. She argues that the experiments and information supporting the hazards of coed schools can be demolished with a minimal amount of effort. I highly disagree with Kaminer that single-sex schools are really the contributing factors to girls low self-esteem. Through my own personal experience I realize that coeducational schools might be the right place for some young

women, but these schools are not the safest place for all. Wendy Kaminer tells us in very gratifying tones of the beginnings of women s education. She says that while the schools may have favored typical gender roles, they did spark the idea of women as citizens. She feels that in the early years single-sex schools were the only known choice. She thinks that many of the current feminists are crazy for accusing coed schools of discouraging girls achievement. To her the main focus should be on whether the establishment of all-girls schools is advancing or destroying civil rights and social equality. I really enjoyed her introduction. She glorifies women as winning their rights and pushing on towards greater victories such as education and the right to vote. She makes women feel

very proud to have come this far. And yet underneath her wholehearted happiness for her own sex, she seems to feel that women s rights have gone to far. She seems to despise the very women she was praising earlier. At the start of her essay she informs us of the many triumphs women overcame to obtain these rights, making us believe she will take the side of her fellow woman. Surprisingly enough, further into her essay, the truth is revealed when she seems upset that women are now outnumbering men as graduates. This may have something to do with her single-sex educational experience. She wants to know how they plan on solving the many dilemmas facing them if they want all-girls schools to stay in existence. She asks sarcastically how they will choose which girls to sacrifice in

the hopes of socializing the boys. She brings up a very valid point when the courts rule that an all-boys school would violate the Fourteenth Amendment and federal equal-education laws, but that all-girls schools are a separate situation. Although she pushes my buttons a little too much when she contrasts the choices of sexually segregated schools with racial segregation. While most of her essay was more opinionated then factual, she had a very intriguing introduction and conclusion. She managed to grab the reader s attention with outrageous remarks. For instance, she implies that the only defense of all-girls schools relies on assumed differences in their developmental needs and learning styles. Now, correct me if I m wrong but aren t men and women quite different in their

educational differences. Ridiculously enough she goes on to inform her audience that research has been done on this area, and it concluded that girls do lose more interest in school and exhibit less confidence than most boys. If Kaminer is attempting to make us feel badly for the male species, she is doing a terrible job. Maybe she feels that she is saving her position by informing us that it s hard to tell if schools are short changing girls because it s impossible to know what the survey means. Instead of supporting her claims logically she does so abruptly and in an unflattering manner. I got a kick out of reading through the quotes she obviously did not favor. She described one author s findings as disproportionate, showing us virtually nothing, and even collapsing under