Imagining being asked to spend twelve or so years of your life in a society which consisted only of members of own sex, how would you react? Unless there was something definitely wrong with you, you wouldn't be too happy about it, to say the least.It is all the more surprising therefore that so many parents in the world choose to impose such abnormal conditions on their children conditions which they themselves wouldn't put up with for one minute!
Any discussion of this topic is bound to question the aims of education.Stuffing children's heads full of knowledge is far from being foremost among them.One of the chief aims of educations is to equip future citizens with all they require to take their place in adult society.Now adult society is made up of men and women, so how can a segregated school possibly offer the right sort of preparation for it? Anyone entering adult society afier years of segregation can only be in for a shock.
A co-educational school offers children nothing less than a true version of society in miniature.Boys and girls are given the opportunity to get to know each other, to learn to live to gather from their earliest years.They are put in a position where they can compare themselves with each other in terms of academic ability, athletic achievement and many of the extra-curricular activities which are part of school life.What a practical advantage it is (to give just a small example)to be able to put on a school play in which the male parts will be taken by boys and the female parts by girls! What nonsense co-education makes of the argument that boys are cleverer than girl or vice-versa.When segregated, boys and girls are made to feel that they are a race apart.Rivalry between the sexes is fostered.
In a coeducational school, everything falls into its proper place, But perhaps the greatest contribution of co-education is the healthy attitude to life it encourages.Boys don't grow up believing that women are mysterious creatures-airy goddesses, more like book-illustrations to a fairy-tale, than human beings.Girls don't grow up imagining that men are romantic heroes.Years of living together at school dispel illusions of this kind.There are no goddesses with freckles, pigtails, piercing voices and inky fingers, There are no romantic heroes with knobbly knees, dirty fingernails and unkempt hair.The awkward stage of adolescence brings into sharp focus some of the physical and emotional problems involved in growing up.These can better be overcome in a co-educational environment.When the time comes for the pupils to leave school, they are fully prepared to enter society as well-adjusted adults.They have already had years of experience in coping with many of the problems that face men and women.
What is the main idea of this passage?
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情商总是被认为是一件好事。我们总是因情商不高感到遗憾，且赞扬具有高情商的人。当然，每个人在某种程度上都有这种能力，但它常常被视作成为一位领导人的先决条件——就像一位魅力超凡的领导者所使用的“仙尘”一般，他只需轻轻一挥、洒上几滴、微微一笑就能把事情搞定。
“情商”一词出现时间较短，特别是与智商相比，是一个相对较新的概念，至今才存在了约30年。该词是由心理学家彼得·萨洛韦和约翰，维梅尔于1990年创造的，他们将其描述为“一种社会智力，能够监控并辨别自己和他人的感受和情绪，并使用这些信息来指导自己的思想和行动。”
情商也有它的黑暗面，虽然不常被提及。但就像超级英雄的超能力，情商的黑暗面同样具有强大的影响力。剑桥大学组织行为学助理教授约亨，蒙格斯在探究领导者如何施加影响力的同时，研究了情商的黑暗面策略。情商高的人善于管理他人的情绪，以确保他们达到自己的目标，但有时他们这样做是出于恶意。
一个好的领导者会用情商来赢得他人的好感，从而获得成功和和谐，而一个坏的领导者会用情商来操纵他人.让他人的生活变得痛苦。几乎每个人都能记得一位领导者是如何做到后者的，他往往泰然自若——这位迷人的反社会者效率极高，总是我行我素，但在他们身后留下了人类毁灭的痕迹。
然而，也不全是坏消息。有一种方法可以区分好鸡蛋和坏苹果——仔细观察他们的信念，以及他们思想和行为的指导原则。蒙格斯说：“如果我们想知道一个人如何运用他的情商，我们需要衡量他所认可的价值观。”
拥有共同的信念是一个领导者在学校和社区中的基石，也是其他人追随他的动力。一个有道德的领导者会不断地问自己和他人：是否是为了正确的理由而做正确的事情？学校和学院领袖协会秘书长杰夫·巴顿曾掷地有声地阐述过这一点：“我们必须能够正视自己，并思考我们内心究竟有什么样的信念。”
人人皆有许多选择，有些选择必须带着沉重的心情去做。成为一名有道德的领导者是艰难的：责任重大，但回报丰厚。应当忠于你的信念和你珍视的原则，用你的“超能力”做好事，为你所服务的人把事情做到最好。