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Academics >  Lower School >  Why Coeducation? > 

The Value of Coeducation
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Greens Farms Academy has been a coed school for the past 38 years, and during that time, we have learned a great deal about how boys and girls learn. Our commitment to coeducation is strong; it is a vitally important aspect of our program that guides us in many of our decisions about how we educate and nurture children.

At the core of our school is a belief that boys and girls benefit from learning, interacting, and working together. We believe that their lives at school should reflect the lives they will lead in the real world. This belief is at the heart of our program; that school is a place where boys and girls are exposed to, understand, and work compatibly with one another; that boys and girls learn from each other, and that differences and commonalities can be embraced and become a valuable learning opportunity.
 



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Research and experience tell us that boys and girls possess unique strengths that can benefit one another. Because girls tend to have an early facility with language, girls help create a language-rich environment, immersing both boys and girls in rich vocabulary, discussion and dialogue. Studies by child psychologists have shown that boys tend to be analytical and systematic, and they are known to be effective problem-solvers, creating a strong environment for sharing diverse ideas and learning to work as a team. Boys also tend to be active; we accept the high level of activity in boys and give them a safe place to express it. In addition, our coed environment allows girls and boys to enjoy their successes and work on their deficits in the presence of both genders, just as they will in the real world. We believe these experiences are critical to their self-confidence and success later in life.

Coeducation is also intricately woven into our commitment to diversity; by immersing students in diverse learning experiences, and surrounding students with people from different backgrounds, cultures, habits of mind, and ways of life, we broaden our students' view of the world. We teach courage and empathy, understanding and forgiveness, risk-taking and caution, independence and teamwork, critical thinking and questioning, qualities that are sources of strength in school and in life. By offering boys and girls equal opportunities, we help them develop their full potential and a respect and tolerance for diversity.



Lastly, we believe that providing support for—and educating--our teachers about the unique needs and strengths of boys and girls is essential; through workshops, shared reading of the latest research, and faculty discussions, our teachers learn to respond to and design lessons for a variety of learning styles and for the different developmental milestones in boys and in girls. Ultimately, creating classrooms that recognize and accept the varying (and often quite different) needs of boys and girls provides our students with a healthy learning environment in which they both thrive.

Resources:
Anne Chapman, Gender Differences and Learning
Joann Deak, How Girls Thrive
Leonard Sax, Why Gender Matters
Michael Thompson, Raising Cain: Protecting the Emotional Life of Boys
Peg Tyre, The Trouble with Boys



  
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