Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Live Today
Separating Boys, Girls in Public Classroom
Aired September 25, 2002 - 11:20 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Private schools have done it for a long time. Now, a handful of public schools are putting boys and girls in separate classrooms, and the results apparently have been remarkable.
Here is CNN's Kathy Slobogin in Washington.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What I need now is a sentence. Who has got one for me?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, me!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Me!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. Felder (ph).
KATHY SLOBOGIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Believe it or not, these kids are excited about their spelling words.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Revelation.
SLOBOGIN: But there is something else about this class that's different. There are no girls.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Understanding.
SLOBOGIN: Moten Elementary is a public school in Washington, D.C., where the boys and girls are completely separate. It's one of only about a dozen such schools in the country.
Moten's principal made the change a year ago, without permission from higher-ups.
GEORGE SMITHERMAN, PRINCIPAL, MOTEN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL: Sometimes we have to be risk-takers. I felt that if I would have asked for permission from the Central Administration, the answer would have been no.
SLOBOGIN (on camera): Same-sex classes are controversial. Women's and civil rights groups charge that they're a gimmick that could perpetuate stereotypes and even violate anti-discrimination laws. But Moten's principal went ahead anyway. The results were dramatic.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Perpetual.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good job.
SLOBOGIN (voice-over): In one year, math and reading scores nearly doubled -- 91 percent of Moten kids are in the top reading levels; 88 percent in the top math levels.
Principal Smitherman says cutting the lunch hour in half helped; so did a new curriculum. But he gives same-sex classes the lion share of the credit.
SMITHERMAN: As a result of the single-sex classes, discipline problems have decreased by 99 percent, and this is tremendous.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Definition -- 5, 4, 3, 2 -- Mr. Seabrook (ph).
SLOBOGIN: Advocates for same-sex classes say teachers can tailor their style to the students. More competitive for the boys...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The testosterone in all-boys classroom is always high. Everybody wants to win. Everyone wants to be first, and I try to channel that.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And the key is: Don't be afraid.
SLOBOGIN: .... more collaborative for the girls.
HEATHER AMPOFO-ANTI, FIFTH GRADE TEACHER: I have really found that when I had both boys and girls classes, the girls didn't' really want to talk as much. They were not as free.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE CHILD: Sometimes boys, they just want to take over everything.
SLOBOGIN: Girls here find it easier to talk with other girls.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE CHILD: You can talk about things, and you do not have to be ashamed of it, because they are going through the same thing sooner or later.
SLOBOGIN: As for the boys, they find girls distracting.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE CHILD: When you were in class with girls, they just play with their hair and they mess with their ears and stuff.
SLOBOGIN: Of course, not everyone likes the change.
(on camera): Do you miss the girls?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE CHILD: Yes.
SLOBOGIN: Are you a ladies' man, Michael?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE CHILD: Yes. SLOBOGIN (voice-over): Some studies have found girls perform better in same-sex classes, and are more likely to go into science and math fields. Research on boys is more scarce. But advocates say kids in these classes can focus on academics, and not each other.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE CHILD: Y'all look funny.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE CHILD: Y'all look funny, too.
SLOBOGIN: For Moten at least, it seems to be working, and the students here have an answer for the skeptics.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE CHILD: Maybe they should try it, and see how it is. See if their test scores get higher.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Give them a hand, guys. That's a good job!
SLOBOGIN: Kathy Slobogin, CNN Washington.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
Aired September 25, 2002 - 11:20 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Private schools have done it for a long time. Now, a handful of public schools are putting boys and girls in separate classrooms, and the results apparently have been remarkable.
Here is CNN's Kathy Slobogin in Washington.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What I need now is a sentence. Who has got one for me?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, me!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Me!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. Felder (ph).
KATHY SLOBOGIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Believe it or not, these kids are excited about their spelling words.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Revelation.
SLOBOGIN: But there is something else about this class that's different. There are no girls.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Understanding.
SLOBOGIN: Moten Elementary is a public school in Washington, D.C., where the boys and girls are completely separate. It's one of only about a dozen such schools in the country.
Moten's principal made the change a year ago, without permission from higher-ups.
GEORGE SMITHERMAN, PRINCIPAL, MOTEN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL: Sometimes we have to be risk-takers. I felt that if I would have asked for permission from the Central Administration, the answer would have been no.
SLOBOGIN (on camera): Same-sex classes are controversial. Women's and civil rights groups charge that they're a gimmick that could perpetuate stereotypes and even violate anti-discrimination laws. But Moten's principal went ahead anyway. The results were dramatic.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Perpetual.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good job.
SLOBOGIN (voice-over): In one year, math and reading scores nearly doubled -- 91 percent of Moten kids are in the top reading levels; 88 percent in the top math levels.
Principal Smitherman says cutting the lunch hour in half helped; so did a new curriculum. But he gives same-sex classes the lion share of the credit.
SMITHERMAN: As a result of the single-sex classes, discipline problems have decreased by 99 percent, and this is tremendous.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Definition -- 5, 4, 3, 2 -- Mr. Seabrook (ph).
SLOBOGIN: Advocates for same-sex classes say teachers can tailor their style to the students. More competitive for the boys...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The testosterone in all-boys classroom is always high. Everybody wants to win. Everyone wants to be first, and I try to channel that.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And the key is: Don't be afraid.
SLOBOGIN: .... more collaborative for the girls.
HEATHER AMPOFO-ANTI, FIFTH GRADE TEACHER: I have really found that when I had both boys and girls classes, the girls didn't' really want to talk as much. They were not as free.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE CHILD: Sometimes boys, they just want to take over everything.
SLOBOGIN: Girls here find it easier to talk with other girls.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE CHILD: You can talk about things, and you do not have to be ashamed of it, because they are going through the same thing sooner or later.
SLOBOGIN: As for the boys, they find girls distracting.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE CHILD: When you were in class with girls, they just play with their hair and they mess with their ears and stuff.
SLOBOGIN: Of course, not everyone likes the change.
(on camera): Do you miss the girls?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE CHILD: Yes.
SLOBOGIN: Are you a ladies' man, Michael?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE CHILD: Yes. SLOBOGIN (voice-over): Some studies have found girls perform better in same-sex classes, and are more likely to go into science and math fields. Research on boys is more scarce. But advocates say kids in these classes can focus on academics, and not each other.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE CHILD: Y'all look funny.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE CHILD: Y'all look funny, too.
SLOBOGIN: For Moten at least, it seems to be working, and the students here have an answer for the skeptics.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE CHILD: Maybe they should try it, and see how it is. See if their test scores get higher.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Give them a hand, guys. That's a good job!
SLOBOGIN: Kathy Slobogin, CNN Washington.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
