TEXT B Imagining being asked to
spend twelve or so years of your life in a society which consisted only of
members of own sex, how would you react Unless there was something definitely
wrong with you, you wouldn’t be too happy about it, to say the least. It is all
the more surprising therefore that so many parents in the world choose to impose
such abnormal conditions on their children—conditions which they themselves
wouldn’t put up with for one minute! Any discussion of this
topic is bound to question the aims of education. Stuffing children’s heads full
of knowledge is far from being foremost among them. One of the chief aims of
educations is to equip future citizens with all they require to take their place
in adult society. Now adult society is made up of men and women, so how can a
segregated school possibly offer the right sort of preparation for it Anyone
entering adult society after years of segregation can only be in for a
shock. A co-educational school offers children nothing less than
a true version of society in miniature. Boys and girls are given the opportunity
to get to know each other, to learn to live together from their earliest years.
They are put in a position where they can compare themselves with each other in
terms of academic ability, athletic achievement and many of the extra-curricular
activities which are part of school life, What a practical advantage it is (to
give just a small example) to be able to put on a school play in which the male
parts will be taken by boys and the female parts by girls! What nonsense
co-education makes of the argument that boys are cleverer than girls or
vice-versa When segregated, boys and girls are made to feel that they are a
race apart. Rivalry between the sexes is fostered. In a coeducational school,
everything falls into its proper place. But perhaps the greatest
contribution of co-education is the healthy attitude to life it encourages. Boys
don’t grow up believing that women are mysterious creatures—airy goddesses, more
like book-illustrations to a fairy-talc, than human beings. Girls don’t grow up
imagining that men are romantic heroes, Years of living together at school
dispel illusions of this kind. There are no goddesses with freckles, pigtails,
piercing voices and inky fingers. There are no romantic heroes with knobbly
knees, dirty fingernails and unkempt hair. The awkward stage of adolescence
brings into sharp focus some of the physical and emotional problems involved in
growing up, These can better be overcome in a co-educational environment.
Segregated schools sometimes provide the right conditions for sexual deviation.
This is hardly possible under a co-educational system. When the time comes for
the pupils to leave school, they are fully prepared to enter society as
well-adjusted adults. They have already had years of experience in coping with
many of the problems that face men and women. According to the passage, what is one of the chief aims of education
A.It is for students to acquire knowledge. B.It is to equip future citizens with scientific technology. C.It is to equip future citizens with what is required in getting a position in society. D.It is for students to get academic achievements.