> alter their curriculum to concentrate on female/male only role models, history and culture?

Yes. Particularily many all girls school. Whether having reading assigments by female authors or about female protaganists. Or focusing on idea's about female empowerment, women's rights, etc...

> these schools designed to target males/females because they are dropping out too often?

No, but they are often designed to help females prepare for higher education. To help them excel in area's that are often considered male dominated subjects (such as math and hard science).

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I'm not going to go into the details that girls and boys learn differently, because I do not believe that applies to segregation along racial lines. Socio-economic lines, yes, but not racial.

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Along with the above, special purpose schools often attract a higher quality per dollar spent teacher than public schools will. (i.e. public schools almost always pay way, way better than private schools, yet the private schools can and do still attract some of the best staff). I would assume that this type of school could do the same, by attracting highly motivated and passionate teachers that believe in the schools mission.

It's also easier to motivate a group of people when they have 1 common issue that they can rally behind. Whether it's promoting the "brotherhood" at an all male school, or female empowerment at an all-girls school, or African Pride at an all black acadamy. Those techniques can than be used to help focus the students on their studies.

Plus it makes it easier to discuss controversial things in an environment when you don't have to worry as much about accidently insulting the opposite group. Particularily for social conscience high-school age students, that might not always think before they say something.

Whether all black schools will work out as well as all male or all female schools have, I don't know. Only time will tell (as you pointed out there are already some in the US). But in my opinion as long as they are optional, and you are not forced to go there, why not allow it and see what happens.

[ Parent ]

I will say that, since the world ingeneral is populated by all sorts of people, and since every workplace is intermixed by race, religion, sex/gender/orientation/whatever we're calling that shit nowadays that has to do with your genitalia and where you like to put it to use, segregated schools set up an extremely artificial environment and, in my opinion, fail to do what schools are intended to do, and that is to prepare its students to get along in the real world amongst all the other real people.

But that's just the opinion of one lolbertarian in a neighboring country, and so matters not one whit.

^{Getting more attention than you since 1998.}
[ Parent ]

Basically, I think that the school-aged population of any country is massive and extremely diverse. I feel a robust educational system will do its best to diversify the approaches it offers to best serve the community at large. Some students will excel in a traditional program, others will excel in a less conventional program.

If scores go up and kids leave school armed with the skills they need to advance in life, then that - more than the defense of a sort of half-assed progressivism that trades a leveling monotony for celebrated diversity - should be encouraged.

Some more specific responses to issues raised by the comments in "Your View" bit you linked to:

1. The "white people could never get away with this" complaint: This is, if you'll excuse what I picked up in my French immersion class, some trite shit here. It's like a rich man wondering what's wrong with the poor and hungry that they are tempted to steal bread when he is never so tempted. The historical conditions that have prevailed in both the US and Canada have worked for the benefit of whites for  nearly 300 years. This isn't to say that these conditions justify every plan advanced to help minorities, but it does suggest pretending we're all starting with the same contextual frameworks and that all our actions are commensurate is willful ignorance.
2. The "this doesn't solve the real problem" issue: I'm actually somewhat sympathetic to these complaints. The problems that plague the African American community will not be solved by Afrocentric education alone. Community conditions, home life, health issues - all those need to be addressed. Still, I would need proof that it will exacerbate conditions before I declare Afrocentric education off limits. Will this single school be created using funds that would have otherwise gone to help the community in some better way? Are we robbing Peter to pay Paul? If so, then these folks have a point. Otherwise this is making the perfect the enemy of the good.
3. "Lowering the standards of education won't help the kids" issue: I think it is telling that people assume a curriculum that focuses on the African cultural experience would be, automatically, "dumbed down." Do we need to go into the racist assumptions that underpin this notion? All students, regardless of the program they attend, should be able to meet certain skill requirements prior to graduation. This program should be no exception. Any concerns beyond that are just crypto-racist claptrap that assumes there is no black history or culture worth learning.
4. The "I'VE used CAPS to EXPRESS my TOTAL DISGUST" issue: these people should be taken out back, forced to dig their own mass grave, and then shot.