The opinions published by The Hearth Journal are solely those of the author, and not of the entire publication, its staff, or Collegiate School. In keeping with our mission to engage in civil dialogue when we have differing opinions, The Hearth Journal welcomes thoughtful commentary and response to our content. You can respond in the comments below, but please do so respectfully. Letters to the Editors will be published, but they are subject to revision based on content or length. Letters can be sent to thehearthjournal@gmail.com.

 

 

 

As a ten year old fourth grade girl at Collegiate, the Middle School holds utopian-esque promises, from pizza every day to classes without any boys. I was promised a locker that would surely be an aesthetic sanctuary for my fresh new notebooks and binders. Upon visiting the Middle School and touring with a current fifth grader, I saw the freedoms of switching classes and the independence that line-less days bring. When September rolled around, and I got past my first-day jitters, the first bit of Middle School almost lived up to my expectations. Only when I got to sixth grade, and I was forced back into drama class with boys, did I realize that the one year of dividing sexes makes the next few exponentially more awkward.

Middle school should be a co-ed environment because of the increased awkwardness and division between sexes that separate sex education creates. The exceptions to my proposal are for advisory and physical education, including sex education. Students should feel comfortable learning about their different bodies in order to best care for themselves during a time when they may feel self-conscious. Students who do not define themselves as “boys” or “girls,” should be able to choose which advisory, PE, and sex ED classes they attend. Developmentally, it is vital that each individual understands how their unique body works to manage the fear and uncertainty that tween years cause.

Scientists and psychologists have performed countless experiments and studies on the pros and cons of single sex education. There is no obvious answer to which method is better. To get an opinion-based perspective on Collegiate’s separate sex strategy, I interviewed some members of our community to hear their positions on the matter.

Justinas Petkauskas (‘26) explains that because the Collegiate Upper School is coeducational, “forcing the separation through 8th grade just makes an already difficult transition even harder.” Justinas is not alone in his opinion that it is difficult to revert back to classes with the opposite sex after having split classes throughout Middle School. Lucy Ward (‘26) reports, “Now we sit apart in all our classes. It’s just awkward, and teachers always mention it.” Not only does separate sex education create awkwardness or uncomfortability in the few coed classes in Middle School, but a divide remains well into Upper School.

As a “life-er” at Collegiate, I have known the majority of my classmates since we were as little as five years old. However, upon entering freshman year, I was only aware of the Lower School identities of many of my male contemporaries. Because many students in the United States are forced to meet new people and make new friends when they switch schools for High School, I believe Collegiate is overlooking a unique opportunity to strengthen the grade-wide bond during the Middle School years that is not possible on the typical public school path.

In my experience, classes have better conversations, and I feel more comfortable when classmates know each other. There are less than 20 students in Honors Spanish 4 this year, and we have all been in the same Spanish classes together since freshman year. AnneClare Fonville (‘26) and I agree that we have bonded and gotten to know each other, so that class feels like a safe space to make mistakes and learn from them. She notes, “If you have a really tight knit grade, then you're fine, it's fun, you like each other!” Because of the split sex classes in Middle School, girls and boys lose connections that are valuable and unique to Collegiate’s JK through 12 experience. 

 

“Coming from St. Catherines, I wish Middle School was coed because there's a lot of extra drama with just one gender. I don't know what it would be like coming from the boy’s perspective. If you have a really tight knit grade, then you're fine, it's fun, you like each other, but the moment one thing happens with girls, drama goes around the whole thing.” -AnneClare Fonville

 

“It makes it harder when we get to high school because we don’t really talk to guys in middle school. I understood the advisory and PE. Nowe we sit apart in all our classes. It’s just awkward, and teachers always mention it.” -Lucy

 

“It’s just because I don’t know the guys as well. I don’t think I would have talked to the guys anyway. In fifth grade Spanish, I actually liked being separated. I thought it was so much fun to be together in lower school” -Amelia Lansing

 

“I believe that the division of the Middle School is largely arbitrary and no longer has any credible benefits. I think that the system inherently skews academic outcomes between boys and girls due to the separation, but that being said, I’m not knowledgeable enough to say who is advantaged/disadvantaged. But what is true is that high school is fully integrated, and forcing the separation through 8th grade just makes an already difficult transition even harder.” -Justinas