T.O. Board plans for a Boys-only school

The article I have chosen is about a new report regarding an all boys school, which is being suggested by the Toronto District School Board Director Chris Spence, to be launched in Toronto. The idea is to start a "male leadership academy" in September 2010 for boys who are in kindergarten to Grade 3. The program would expand by adding an additional grade each year. Studies have shown that there are a greater number of male high school dropouts and so they are hoping to fix this problem by starting them young in a male oriented school. Most, if not all of the teachers in this school would be male. He states this program would give boys a sense of ownership which will benefit them in their future success. Boys who do not have strong father figures in their life would be among those benefiting the most from this program, says Spence.

I think this program will pose more problems than actually fix them. It would cause segregation between males and females and cause boys to not develop the essential social skills to relate to girls which could affect their future. The idea of schooling is to prepare kids for success in the future, how can that be possible without interaction between boys and girls which is necessary for their social development. Social interaction between girls and boys is essential to the development of children especially at a young age when they learn to play together and work together on homework projects.

I think what the school board needs to do instead is to invest in education and hire more teachers and therefore have smaller classrooms. This would make it easier for the teacher to focus on each individual student and if necessary the boys that are getting lost in the shuffle will be able to get the attention they need.

For further information:
www.toronto.ctv.ca
www.citytv.com/toronto/citynews/news/local/Article/print/61128
www.parentalcentral.ca/parent/articleprint/713446