The idea of segregating elementary and high school classes can hardly be classified as new. Originally, sexual separation policies were derived from religious and social traditions that are no longer as omnipresent as they once were. In our allegedly "enlightened" era, such discriminatory policies are found to be unacceptable. According to the New York Times, these ideas have taken new roots due to a 2004 federal regulatory change that gave public schools freedom to separate girls and boys.

Over the years, experimental policies have reinstituted gendered classes with various results. Last year, PS 140 in the Bronx, New York joined 445 other classrooms in offering single sex education in an attempt to stave off behavior problems and lagging test scores. Paul Cannon, principal of P.S. 140 told Times that "We will do whatever works, however we can get there," citing the fact that single-gender classrooms, unlike other methods, do not represent a significant capital investment.

Of course, Cannon had already tried other policies - updating computer labs, instituting family sporting events and hiring tutors. These were effective, but took time and effort, yet did not elicit any controversy. Many parents seem to help students focus, but groups such as National Organization for Women say that segregation reinforces gender stereotypes.

I am not going to claim that NOW is wrong - I don't know, but I doubt they do either. A century ago, it would be true that gender segregation reinforced negative social values and disadvantaged girls with unequal treatment. These days, however, the situation is different. There is no conclusive data to support such an argument.

More importantly, NOW's concerns have become irrelevant in light of international competition. In 2002, only 69 percent of public high school students graduated, a statistic that has not improved over the years. In 2008, the graduation rate for colleges and universities was significantly worse. Only 12 percent of community college students, 33 percent of state university students and 56 percent of private four-year college students graduated. That constitutes an educational crisis.

To put it bluntly, at the moment, the only thing that retains any importance is improving education. Increasing retention, graduation and literacy rates should trump any intangible social concerns. Unfortunately, PS 140's experiment has yet to produce concrete results, but such audacity should not be discouraged. Public and private school administrators will have to continue to innovate, weeding out ineffective policies with the hope of a better future.

That's what this is about: the future. The effort put towards educating elementary students leads to improvement in educational standards across the board as the years progress. To the dismay of many, results from today's educational standards will not be apparent for decades, however, what we do now will have an effect. In theory, the United States is based on democracy and as Epicetus wrote, "Only the educated are free."

-Thomas Shattuck is a sophomore in the School of Engineering. He can be reached at thomas.w.shattuck@vanderbilt.edu jackass.