A school is an educational institution designed to provide learning spaces and learning environments for the teaching of students in order to help them in character building and building their future. But given the gender stereotypes and differences between sexes the question – ‘whether girls and boys should be taught together or separately?’ arises.
Being a co-ed enthusiast myself, I believe that when two children of opposite sexes study together, they are better exposed to the real world. As a human you will and will have to, at some point of your life, interact and face the other gender, so studying in a co-ed school better prepares you for any such interaction. Moreover students in co-educational schools grow up to be more confident and are able to express and keep their opinion without any hesitation, in the presence of the opposite gender. Children learn to work together productively which better prepares and shapes them for all the future opportunities where they will be supposed to work in unison. Academics is automatically enriched when boys and girls are exposed to each other’s thinking and experiences in the classrooms.
Ultimately having girls and boys in a single classroom creates a balance in school which benefits both. If boys excel at a particular thing they raise the standard for girls and vice versa creating a competitive, diversified and challenging environment which is essential for the growth of a child. Children learn to respect each other and be tolerant of people who are different from them. While all these benefits are not available in an ‘all girls school’, the students here tend to be more reserved with lack of social skills which hampers their overall development. Hence, considering the above facts, we can conclude that co-educational schools are much more effective for the overall growth of a child as compared to single gender schools and it is a boon to women by allowing them to have equal level of education and opportunity as men.