<p>I like drawing, but that doesn?t mean I do it well. <br/>So I wasn?t too offended when my friend challenged me to draw a bicycle and found I couldn?t, but then she said, ?See, that?s because you?re a girl.? <br/>She didn?t say this in a condescending or defeated way, but rather matter-of-factly. <br/>?Girls just can?t think mechanically like guys can,? she said. <br/>Whether males and females truly do think and learn differently is a long-standing contention. <br/>With the recent amendments of Title IX of the Education Amendments (1972), public schools can devote classes, or even the entire school, to one sex. <br/>Previously under Title IX, federally funded schools had to prevent sex discrimination and were only allowed to offer single-sex education in limited cases such as sex education and physical education. <br/>Researchers claim that single sex education is beneficial, especially for females, who perform academically higher in these environments, according to the U.S. Department of Education?s research compilations. <br/>According to Linda Sax, associate professor in residence at the UCLA Graduate School of Education and Information Studies, eliminating intimidation from males in classrooms can nurture higher self-confidence among female students in single-sex settings. <br/>But gender differences are essential in creating a more diverse learning environment. <br/>For instance, different perspectives from opposite sexes would be missing in class discussions. How would females hear the male perspective when discussing the women?s rights movement? <br/>Given these differences between the sexes, it?s not too farfetched to say that single-sex education would lead to the ultimate cardinal sin in education ? limiting diversity. <br/>Advocates suggest that because males and females process information differently, they essentially have different mindsets ? and thus cannot learn together. <br/>Researchers contend that males tend to value competition, but females collaborate. <br/>Then I suppose we should also segregate education based on race and ethnicity. <br/>Different cultures and backgrounds breed different experiences and ways of thinking, right? So some students might be (dis)advantaged compared to others. <br/>Heck, it?s impossible to teach a class of students who may have different skill levels, strengths and weaknesses ? because that just never happens in our school systems. <br/>Once the same basis of argument moves from sex to racial/ethnic lines, the claim becomes absurd. <br/>?Separate but equal,? anyone? <br/>Speaking of equality, deviation from education equity is possible. <br/>In 1997, California launched 12 experimental single-sex schools. <br/>However, ?rather than finding a setting that was emancipatory ... teachers? constructions of gender shaped curriculum, instruction and discipline in ways that often reinforced of gender stereotypes,? states a study conducted by the University of Toronto, UC San Diego and UC Berkeley. <br/>Though the schools were inadequately funded and managed, the study reveals that unequal and stereotypical treatment according to sex is not difficult to achieve. <br/>But distractions from the opposite sex among teens with raging hormones prevent academic potentials, proponents say. <br/>Michael Moskovitz, a fourth-year physiological science student who attended an all-boys school, said it was easier to focus because ?the daily worrying about what this girl or that girl thinks of you doesn?t happen.? <br/>However, single-sex education fails to look at the broader picture of sexuality. Where would gay students benefit from this? Not all girls are distracted by guys and vice versa. <br/>Single-sex education categorizes male and female into convenient stereotypes, and removes educational design from reality. <br/>It also fails to address future social consequences between men and women. <br/>?When I started UCLA, it was hard to incorporate myself into the (opposite sex) social atmosphere again. ... It was difficult to speak to guys just as friends, because I didn?t have that in high school,? said April Hudson, a fourth-year psychology student and former attendee of an all-girls school . <br/>Under the protective walls of single-sex education ? where differences between the sexes are not only acknowledged, but perpetuated ? how can the sexes overcome these differences and adapt to each other? <br/>Drawing a bicycle is challenging, but learning to ride it was an even bigger task: falling, scraping, bruising. But we adjust to these obstacles to master the art of bike-riding. <br/>And in the same way, I will learn to draw a bicycle ? mechanically challenged female or not. <br/><hr><i>If you fit the gender stereotype, e-mail Yoo at . Send general comments to .</i></p><br><br><a href='; target='_blank'>;