You gotta keep em separated

Boys and girls. Eating lunch? Yes. Single sex lunches are gaining in popularity in middles schools, and they seem to be having a positive effect. A handful of schools in Kansas, particularly in the Wichita district, have separated boys and girls and found that not only do they behave better, but in doing so, they have more time to eat more lunch.

Students aged 11-14 in three Wichita middle schools are separated by gender to achieve better behavior and reduce rough housing, teasing and flirting. “The girls seem to really like it because they get their girl time without having to worry about boys,” said Michael Archibeque, principal at Pleasant Valley Middle School. “And the boys don’t show off for the girls. I think it’s the perfect age for this.”

But perhaps more surprising is the fact that kids are finishing their lunches. “I could not believe how many kids are actually eating,” Archibeque noted. There is less food waste and fewer students complaining of hunger in the afternoon.

Another Wichita school, Truesdell Middle School, has been on the separated program for two years. Recently, for a fundraiser, the kids were allowed to mingle, but chose not to. “They said, ‘Yuck, why would we want that?’” according to Principal Jennifer Sinclair.

It’s unknown how many schools have the gender distinguished lunch, but as far as single sex classrooms go, that is definitely on the increase due to reported higher academic achievement. In January of 2011, 524 public schools had classrooms that were single sex, up from 12 in 2002. It’s trending.

Source: Reuters