“Coed students often demonstrate comfort in social situations, and 72 percent of students say they easily make friends of the opposite sex,” according to OurKids which is an organization that has been working on education for over 20 years. As adolescents, we are exposed to social problems every day of our lives and our capacity to solve these, depends on the education and the experiences we live over school time. If our school provides us a variety of positive experiences, we will be guided on a path of lifelong learning; but if our experiences are weak, our skills would not be as strong as they should. This is why learning together in a coed classroom since a young age has many benefits for both genders.

Deciding which school to enroll your children in, depends on whether you follow single-sex schools’ principles or modern co-education ideals. Research has suggested that both sexes do better academically when they learn separately, but as exposed by the coordinator of  Equal Education, Doron Isaacs, it isn´t clear that the “social benefits of co-education outweigh the so-called ‘academic benefits’ that come with single-sex schools?” Don’t you think that it is important for children to understand since a young age, that they live in a world full of diversity and that they learn to coexist with everyone? Without a doubt,  sending your child to a school with boys and girls will encourage their self-esteem, their social skills and will prepare them for diversity, and most importantly accepting gender equality.

“Studying in a coed school motivates the future generations to believe in gender equality. Men especially learn to value the feminine side by having the same tasks and approaching the same requirements with the same capacity,” expressed Pedro Uribe TCS junior. Coed environments teach students to respect their opposite-sex peers, while they are exposed to different viewpoints and are encouraged to break down stereotypes. “When we are growing up it is better to have kids from the opposite gender around you in order to understand and live gender equality,” explained Susana Arias TCS’ alumni and current learning center teacher. In every situation, and at every instance, men and women cooperate in their daily lives, and students have expressed how their perception of the opposite gender has always been influenced by the education they receive at home and at school.

“In the single-sex school I studied, nobody could dye or cut their hair, we all had to wear the same sized uniform, and we were only allowed to use blue or white hair ties,” said Juanita Quintana, current TCS junior Amalia Triana’s, mother, who studied in a single-sex school. “My school did not only limited me from relating with boys, but also limited me from accepting diversity; we all looked the same at school because of the stereotyped rules which prevented us from realizing that the world was full of different people.” After High School many doors to the real world open, and before students finish school, co-education has already exposed them to diversity. This allows them to have a great advantage over single-sex students who need to learn how to coexist with the opposite sex on the instant they graduate from high school.

By teaching students to coexist with one another with dignity and respect, children understand since a young age that both males and females contribute in equally important ways to society. Co-education principals are based on modernity and diversity. “Neuroscience tells us that yes: boys and girls are different, that boys’ brains are larger, but girls’ brains grow faster and typically their interests and learning styles vary somewhat,” but despite this information from HuffPost and Dr. Gail Gross, educationists say mixed classes often adapt better after they graduate. “I entered both my son and my daughter into a co-ed school, because of my personal experience,” commented Quintana. “I never liked single-sex education due to the conservative ideal they inculcated in my life, which limited me from living many experiences and made me struggle to accept diversity.” As the world develops, we should all evolve with it. Yet, for instance, in order to not commit the same mistakes of our past generations, we should start making different decisions. We should learn to accept diversity and believe in gender equality, and the first step to reach this ideal society is by putting our trust into co-education while we abolish conformity.