OPINION

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By Tucker Golladay

Fine arts courses, foreign language courses, Math 7+ (advanced 7th grade math), and Algebra II classes are the only classes offered in Collegiate’s Middle School that do not separate by gender. With a majority of classes being separated by gender and minimal free time in the Middle school, there is very little intermingling between boys and girls on a daily basis. Unlike students in the Upper School, Middle School students have fewer breaks and little freedom of movement around campus during the school day. Marshall Campbell (‘20) believes that we “still see the effects of isolating genders in the Middle School in the Upper School.” If you have the chance to go a Collegiate performance or sporting event, Marshall’s point becomes very evident. Many students at these events visibly sit separately, and those who are sitting next to the opposite gender are often sitting next to parents.

Girls and boys visibly sitting separately before an Upper School assembly in Oates Theater. Photo credit: Tucker Golladay.

Transitioning from Middle School to Upper School can be hard for anyone, but it does not help the transition when students are suddenly introduced to the other gender in all classes. It creates an awkwardness between genders many students have yet to experience. Amy Merchant, an Upper School math teacher, has seen “behavior problems ninth grade boys have sometimes” that can attributed to the sudden recombination of genders. Max McManus (‘22) thinks that “it takes a while for everyone to get merged together in Upper School.” I am a second semester senior, and think that the genders are still merging. So, yes it takes a while.

Another problem with separating genders is that the separation forces people to pick a side. There are students at Collegiate that may not feel comfortable being forced into one gender-based group. For students that express themselves as non-binary, for example, they may be forced into classes depending on defining features, which can create a feeling of both disrespect from others and a feeling of being detached from whom they are as a person. Furthermore, it silences the students that are working towards discovering themselves. If Middle School is a place where there are only two defined groups, then how is someone supposed to feel included if they fit into neither? Sydney G. (‘24) says “one of [her] close friends is non-binary, and some teachers are still using she/her pronouns, and it makes it a little awkward for them to change in the locker room.”

Bill Rider, a Middle School math teacher, stated that “I think we should always evaluate our traditions to see if they are still accomplishing what we hope they do.” Traditions are a way to both celebrate history and keep core values, but separating students based on gender is a tradition that should be reconsidered.

Conversely, there are benefits of separating genders at that age, because as Kyla C. (‘24) outlined, “boys can be too much, so it is nice being separate sometimes.” Separating genders can avoid competition between peers to impress the other, which can promote immaturity. However, new studies suggest that the human brain is not fully developed until age 25, so waiting until Upper School to combine genders is only pushing off the inevitable consequences of combining boys and girls in the first place.

Separating genders for a majority of classes pushes people into a defined faction. Segregating people to one group impairs the opportunity for ideas and thoughts to be challenged and engaged by the entire population of students. Segregation rather secludes students to one half of the population, and thus one half of thoughts and ideas. In an environment where we strive to gain as much knowledge and understanding before reaching the next step, both academically and socially, separating genders in Middle School makes students miss possible benefits to their educational career. Middle School is a place where students begin to discover themselves and the world in new ways, and disallowing students from gaining perspectives of another gender is a loss to their education. The transition between Lower School and Middle School is where the separation takes place. Carolyn LaMontagne, the head Middle School librarian, said that she sees “the shock of separation from friend groups in Lower School” because they often do not end up in the same gender-split classes or advisories. Not only does this create an exclusive environment, but it can break or weaken friendships as well.

In an institution that is meant to prepare students for college and the workforce, I find it very counterintuitive to separate genders in Middle School. In life, all genders come together to work towards common goals. Separating based on gender breaks up this work throughout Middle School, and it bleeds into most of Upper School as well, which leaves many students unprepared for college and the world.

Read Liam Bellamy’s (‘20) opinion piece on the other side of this argument.