Important points to consider are these:

1. Yes, boys do not get along well (and often do not behave well) in mixed gender schools. This is because they do, as you say, have a lot of testosterone and are not "built" for sitting in a classroom to learn. I am sure girls honestly believe this ruins school for them. Our classrooms in America are taught by an overwhelming majority of female teachers who often do not understand why boys can't sit still in a desk and do their work, and why they are busy disrupting unstructured times and, even structured times. In a boys school boys needs are more likely to be top priority and people who understand boys and know how to motivate them and help them learn are more likely to want to teach in such schools. For this reason, if for no other, boys would be just fine in a boys school environment.

2. Girls do have maturity over boys, as a general rule. Girls are more likely to appear to be getting along well in a girls only school. At the same time a girls school will be more likely to put the needs of girls as a high priority. Again, teachers who would enjoy working in a girls school are going to be the ones who understand girls better than boys, and who enjoy catering to the needs and wants of girls.

3. Of course girls do not like boys "ruining" school for them. Girls have a very complex social order that allows "queen bee" girls to rule their cliques with an iron hand. When boys come along, everything can get very confusing for the girls and things can go into social disarray very quickly. The presence of boys tends to disempower some of the girl bullies and disrupt things.

Wow...I don't know what else to say...Actually, here's something: What on Earth are you talking about?! Let's look at this hypothetically: guys and girls are separated in schools. Girls' personalities will be inflated because they are only around girls; guys will only act more rowdy, as you have stereotyped us, since they are only around guys. Segregating schools by gender will only create more "queen bee" girls and more cliques to further divide the social structure in schools. Guys, on the other hand, will act more like guys because that is the only influence around them. How do guys learn manners? By being around girls and learning how to treat them with respect and diginity. Division will only perpetuate a decline in the social and moral values of guys. We would all be acting like complete guys around girls-no manners, no regard for our audience, no restraints on our actions-because we're used to being testosterone-fueled monsters, as the author so charmingly labeled us. I'm sorry, but there is no validity to your argument. I'm a senior in high-school, and I'm a reserved person. Some of my best friends are girls. What do you make of that? I've got good manners because I've been around girls for so long and realized how I am to act around them. What about realtionships, too? How is a guy supposed to learn how to treat a woman he dates unless he can actually see her every day. After all, a lot of high-school relationships are in the same school. There are so many ways I could go with this that I would if it wasn't so late. I hope I've shown you that this author's point is moot and a fallacy-hasty generalization.

Good night.

As the parent of a 9 year old boy who was regularly reduced to tears by

the sugar and spice harpies in his class I agree with the idea of single gender classes.

These girls were vicious and relentlessly cruel to the males in their class and females that did not conform to their idea of social acceptability. I came close to choosing home schooling to avoid these children altogether. In the end the solution was the teacher.

When made aware of the situation and seeing it with her own eyes she took steps to

curb the bullying and make life bearable in the class. After this experience I can see

an all male highschool in the future for my son.

Well, that is a decision for parents to make on their own, not make the decision for others. If you don't want your child to suffer, then by all means pull them out and put them somewhere they are happy and in a productive learning environment. I hate to jab, mattie, but you're about the fifth or sixth person that has made these claims and opinions based on hasty generalization, which is a clearly stated fallacy. I think it should be left up to the parents to decide for their children, not for some to decide for many. I know we live in a democratic country, but Ijust have the distinct feeling that this sort of bill would not carry much validity in the Supreme Court. It's simply too hasty of an assumption that all boys disrupt classes. Besides, it's discrimination based on gender, regardless of the motive for bettering both genders' educations; the basis for the argument is still the same:boys are trouble and girls are the innocent victims. I honestly have no problem with parents making that decision for their own children, but as for the masses, it's just wrong to make that assumption and put all of the children in a completely 180 degree environment.

Straight guy, there are a wealth of studies to show that boys perform much better in an all boy environment than in mixed gender classrooms. Boys do not learn manners just from girls, they also learn from male role models. We need more of these in schools, and we need to emphasize father's roles in raising their children rather than their role as an ATM.

No one is suggesting that boys and girls be separated completely until they are 18, we are suggesting that in the classroom it is more productive to separate genders for both boys and girls. This leaves lunch, recess, study halls, music classes (band and chorus) and clubs to mix as well as after school activities.

I agree that boys are seen as evil and girls as perfect. This has lead to a criminalization of maleness shown in the over prescription of dangerous drugs such as Ritalin for no reason other than as a tranquilizer. Splitting up classes will allow for male behavior without it being at the expense of girls. Both boys and girls benefit from sex segregated classes, boys enormously so.

I also agree it should be a parents choice. We need to make that choice available to parents of boys.

Anyone will perform better when isolated, though. It's just a question of who you discriminate against. Next thing you know, it'll be the smart boys and not so smart boys being further divided to improve their education. It would be a never-ending cycle of "improvement." Those role models had to have learned their manners in some form of interaction, though, with the opposite sex. Also, boys aren't too interested in girls at the age when recess and lunch are imposed. When clubs and study hall are available, there is no real time to just sit and socialize. Putting all boys in a class will only encourage their "bad" behavior. I'm all over the place with my thoughts because it's so late, so excuse my scattered order of ideas.

"soon we'll be separating smart boys from non-smart boys" - what do you think AP classes are? Or college?

By that stage in life, the students are not governed by their parents. THEN it's their decision as to where they go. That separation is for them to decide. I know of plenty of schools where you are forced to take AP classes, so there is no separation until the 11tth and 12th grade year. It's all up to the student otherwise.