March 13, 2008. Calgary, Canada. Clear Water was one of several schools featured in an article by Sarah McGinnis in the February 24, 2008 issue of the city’s main newspaper, the Calgary Herald. The articles “Local Schools Lead Alberta Rankings” and “How Top Schools Do It” have both been posted on the Clear Water Academy web site for viewing. Clear Water Academy is an independent Catholic school that uses the Integral Formation method of education developed by the Legion of Christ.  

Gender-Specific Classrooms Make a Big Difference
The article “How Top Schools Do It” notes that one of the special features of a school like Clear Water Academy is its gender-specific education.

There is no lack of evidence proving that boys and girls learn differently and that “divide and conquer” is the best educational strategy.

As McGinnis observes, girls are capable of working in silent concentration for a stretch of times, while boys need constant movement to stay engaged and interested in the subject matter.

Single-sex education is not only tailored to boys’ and girls’ unique learning styles, but it also helps keep them focused and disciplined in the classroom. Peer pressure is a foe to be reckoned with in junior high school, when a snicker or a comment from a member of the opposite sex can squelch the desire to learn—or at least, the desire to be seen learning. In the single-sex classrooms of a school like Clear Water Academy, this kind of pressure is much less of an issue.

Sarah McGinnis quotes Paul Hudec, the school principal, who observes: “In a junior high girls’ mathematics class, no one has to sit there and worry about giving the wrong answer and fear the boys will laugh. The boys in a language arts class wouldn’t have to be embarrassed to be excited by Shakespeare.”

Kids Speak for Themselves
What do the children think of this arrangement? As observed by McGinnis, opinions seem divided.

“Back in the Grade 5 boys classroom, the question of going to school without the girls sparks a debate. ‘It’s better for boys and girls to be separated because they learn and think differently,’ says 10-year-old Nicholas Krawec. ‘I miss the girls,’ counters Cole Richardson, 10. ‘I like one of them.’”