Going to an All-Girls School
– the Cons Outweigh the Pros
(an opinion)
In this current day and age, most societies no longer practise the custom of arranged marriages, and females in most countries get a job when they complete their education or when they need to help their family financially. For these reasons, I feel that the concept of all-girls schools is outdated and is more disadvantageous than beneficial to the students.
Going to an all-girls school, for perhaps 10 schooling years, has its perks but these are mainly enjoyed only during those years. As girls generally prefer to hang out with girls rather than with boys during these years, a classroom full of girls is a delight to be in as you have so many possible friendships to make throughout the year. There are also no boisterous boys to create trouble during the lessons, and no teasing boys to annoy you. Changing your attire before and after physical education lessons is also a breeze as everyone can just do so in the classroom with the windows closed. You will also have no distractions from your studies in terms of boy-girl relationships in school (to your parents’ delight).
However, in terms of lifelong consequences, I feel that the cons outweigh the pros of going to an all-girls school. Compared to males, females in general have a tendency to gossip, back-stab and ostracize persons they do not like. Being in an all-girls school can exacerbate such tendencies in some females, as it is easy to find like-minded friends to gossip with, back-stab others, and ostracise someone. In a co-ed school, having boys in a class would be a mitigating deterrence as, firstly, there are fewer girls to gang up with. Secondly, boys in general do not have the above-mentioned tendencies. Consequently, the girls will be less inclined to back-stab or ostracize anyone as there is a greater ‘opposing force’ in terms of people who do not practise such habits.
It is important to add that some girls who practise these habits in their all-girls school actually continue them in their adulthood. It is uncanny to be able to guess correctly that an adult female had an all-girls education from the way she gossips, back-stabs, and influences other females to ostracize someone. Her actions reflect her assumption that such actions are the expected and accepted reactions which would be supported by others. And not surprisingly, usually no male is involved in the ostracising. I have seen this with my own two eyes, and still wonder at how an adult can behave as if she were still in an all-girls school. Needless to say, it is evil to gossip, backstab, or ostracise anyone, so it is really sad to see adults still practising the habits they gave in to when young.
The other major impact on most girls who go through an all-girls education is a skewed and inaccurate perception of guys. If they have little to no interaction with guys outside school, they grow up with little knowledge of the male psyche. This tends to affect their interactions with guys later on. Somehow, when they see a male and female conversing, they tend to assume that there is a romantic attraction. It is also uncanny to see that some females still have that perception as adults, and make assumptions that a female is attracted to a male or vice versa, just because one strikes up a conversation with another. It is uncanny to be able to guess correctly that the onlooker making the wrong assumption is a product of an all-girls education. Females who went to co-ed schools tend not to make such wrong assumptions as they are used to conversing with both genders on a daily basis. They know that conversing does not necessarily signal a romantic attraction. In addition, the lack of knowledge about the male psyche can cause a female to be cheated in a relationship, or choose the wrong man for a spouse, in extreme scenarios. In a nutshell, a lack of knowledge can affect relationships in adulthood, both socially and at work. Females who went to co-ed schools are generally more adept at interacting and working with both genders.
Weighing the pros and cons, as well as the relevance of all-girls schools in modern societies, I would say that it is an outdated mode of education. Girls need to have an all-rounded education which includes learning how to interact with boys, just as it would be advantageous for boys to be in a co-ed school so that they can learn to interact with girls and moderate their boisterousness during lessons. All-girls schools gave parents peace of mind in an era of arranged marriages and when females going out to work was frowned upon. Today, however, sending a girl to an all-girls school may instead turn out to be a disservice to her.