Education

To educate groups together several meanings: to teach, to guide, to form — to give shape. Education is the activity that seeks to teach, direct behavior, and provide theoretical and practical formation in some aspect. For example, there is sports, professional, religious, linguistic and social education, etc.

This education aims to teach, form and guide children to acquire the qualities needed to become better persons. It therefore covers many areas of theoretical and practical learning.

The education of children concerns their parents, the children themselves, and the people around them — and the State — who prefer to interact with good people. The Church also wishes people to acquire the formation and qualities that bring them closer to the happiness of heaven. In the case of children, the main those responsible for their education are the parents.

On the academic level, two main goals are pursued:

• In its basic and general aspect, education aims to transmit to young people the main knowledge that humanity has accumulated over time.
• Additionally, it seeks to prepare them for future professional life.

Academic education is not enough. It must be accompanied by human formation, where the aim is the acquisition and development of qualities that make up a good personality. For example, the goal is for them to be honest, just, loyal, sincere, kind, firm, self-sacrificing, generous, hardworking, optimistic, devout and noble persons, etc.

Special attention must be paid to matters that redound to the greater good of children. For this reason, Christian parents take great interest in their spiritual education, to help them toward eternal happiness, which is the greatest possible good.

7. But parents differ in their preferences and priorities — what then? To address this diversity, it is important that several educational projects exist and that freedom of choice is available.

For example, no one should be obliged to study at the nearest school. Children from poor neighborhoods must be able to study in other neighborhoods if they or their parents wish.

Differentiated education is education where boys and girls study in separate places, with the aim of better attending to their particular needs. It is contrasted with mixed education, where boys and girls study together.

This education is based on the fact that there are real differences between boys and girls, and this distinction influences the way they are educated. Differentiated education is sensitive to this diversity.

Between boys and girls there are several differences worth taking into account to succeed in their education:

• Girls mature earlier than boys. This lead in maturity is a well-known fact that influences school performance, the approach to education, and mutual comparisons.
• Girls and boys think differently. This is well known to many married couples. Consequently, a female teacher will better succeed in educating girls, and a male teacher will understand boys better.
• Girls and boys behave differently. In general, boys are more active and restless. It is not pathological or deserving of punishment for them to be this way. They should not be educated to behave like girls. Nor vice versa.

- Some benefits of this education are:

• The particular characteristics of students are better attended to, as we saw in the previous point. And consequently academic and formative results improve, as statistics confirm.
• Sexual distinctions and prejudices diminish. Sex is less present and there is more freedom of behavior without having to respond to the presence of the other sex.
• In schools with differentiated education there is more tranquility, due to a decrease in sexual tensions: boys are freed from the obsession of watching girls; girls are freed from sexual harassment and from excessive preoccupation with their physical appearance. Furthermore, in differentiated schools girls form closer friendships among themselves, since they do not see each other as competitors for boys' attention.
• In differentiated education there are fewer non-academic distractions.

Treating differently what is truly distinct is not discriminatory. There would be discrimination if there were no equal opportunities — for example, if there were no schools for girls. Differentiated education is a sign of freedom of educational choice. On this, see discrimination and machismo.

For reasons of convenience, which are the same reasons why there are distinctions in life. For example, in sports competitions there is separation because it is convenient. In our case, it is a matter of focusing on what is best for education.

No, please. No to mass uniformity. Much better everyone different, each with their own personality, though equal in some things. Freedom. Precisely one advantage of differentiated education is that it better protects the development of the personality of boys and girls. And it avoids mass uniformity.

It is advisable that there be freedom to choose and respect for those who prefer another educational model. Differentiated education is not the only factor to consider. For example, the quality of the teaching staff, and the ethical and spiritual principles conveyed at school, are of great interest.