H.K. Bottomly Defends Same Sex Education in Letter to Editor

The debate over same-sex education in public schools (“Single-Sex Education Is Assailed in Report,” news article, Sept. 23) is an important one. As a scientist, I look forward to the day when the data can be synthesized and presented by scholars more objectively.

This report correctly points to inconclusive evidence on one side, yet blithely lauds inconclusive evidence on the other. We need more good research, not strident advocacy.

What in my view is irrefutable — given the extraordinary success and satisfaction of Wellesley graduates — is that women’s colleges are a vital and vibrant part of the educational landscape and should be offered to all young women as a choice.

I know that our graduates (among them, Hillary Rodham Clinton, the secretary of state, and Madeleine K. Albright, a former secretary of state) would confirm that single-sex education helped give them the confidence and skills to contribute significantly in all arenas.

H. KIM BOTTOMLY
President, Wellesley College
Wellesley, Mass., Sept. 24, 2011