BOYS AND GIRLS are different; they do not easily learn side by side as children. Segregated schools make sense. A British reality show about a school for boys is drawing some attention to this long lost idea. Gareth Malone, who made his name in the series The Choir, is star of the show Gareth Malone’s Extraordinary School for Boys. Malone recently told The Sunday Times, “I’m very interested in boys’ disenfranchisement.” He said boys need “risk, competition, physical activity and immediacy.” (Unfortunately, his idea of risk appears to be climbing a tree with a harness and a rope.)

I have not seen the show and am not particularly interested in seeing it, though Malone appears to be engaging and to have some common sense ideas. Schools cannot be extraordinary – for boys or for girls – as long as they are a government industry. The idea of somehow converting public schools into places sensitive to boys and to girls is a mirage, one more educational gimmick. Still, it’s interesting and encouraging to see the problems of boys in school receive some recognition.

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