Special Schools for Special People

Did you notice the announcement in Sunday’s paper? Springfield shall be the home of yet another private Christian school. Christian Education Cooperative (CEC) will cater to African American boys and offer classes from Kindergarten to fourth grade. Founder Barbara Smith stated that while the school is for black males, boys of other ethnic backgrounds “won’t be turned away.”

This brings up a whole host of questions, my friends, I am not sure that we will like the truth.

1. Are African American children getting something less than a quality education in the same school as their white counterparts?
2. Are boys somehow being discriminated against while n the same schools as their female counterparts?
3. Are special schools, any specialized schools regardless of type, better equipped to provide a higher education than more inclusive schools? For that matter, does the type of segregated school (gifted, special ed, all-boy, all-girl, homosexual, religious) setting have an impact?

These are not easy questions to answer. All across America we are experimenting with different types of specialized schools for all types of specialized communities. We have special schools for gifted students and those with disabilities (although the latter are becoming less common). We even have special schools for gay, lesbian and transgendered teens.

The simple existence of these schools begs the question: How much of an impact does the school setting and atmosphere have on a child’s educational abilities? I am sure there are studies on the subject, but I have not yet investigated the research. I would like to know if student achievement can be appropriately measured (apples to apples) and shown to increase as a result of the school setting alone. Simple anecdotal evidence – stories of my friend’s cousin’s aunt’s son who was doing terrible in school until he went to the All-Boys, Latino School for Disabled Scientologists – does little to actually demonstrate that specialized schools are indeed more successful at helping children reach their potential.

My first thought, my initial reaction, is rooted in the home environment. Children whose parents are interested and involved in their young lives will, as a whole, do better in school. Home-schooled students make my point. You can take any child who is struggling and having behavior issues and bus that student from school to school. That will fix nothing. However, if that student finds the right teacher, the mentor who takes an interest in the youngling, a pseudo-parent if you will, then that is what makes a difference in the child’s life.

A child who is discriminated against because of his gender, ethnicity, religious beliefs, or sexual preferences (or who perceives to be discriminated against because of these issues) may very well be more likely to succeed in an environment where he is welcomed. In that case, it goes back to someone who takes an interest in the child.

From my own perspective, I suspect that our culture has changed so drastically that boys are now the ones being discriminated against while in the classroom. Especially on an elementary level, I think that many lesson plans and behavior management procedures are designed for a more female-oriented population. I think that some classrooms are designed for females and that boys are punished for their interests.

Do boys require their own school? I am not prepared to scientifically defend that boys are discriminated against, let alone that they need their own school. It is something that needs more research and investigation.