For an optimal learning experience, is it better for school-age twins to remain together in the same classroom, or go their separate ways? Who should make this decision, schools or parents? The Massachusetts state Senate is currently considering a bill that will give parents full authority over their twins’ classroom placements, amid protests from the “many school officials and behavior specialists [who] ardently stand by the practice of separating twins”, according to an article in yesterday’s Boston Globe.
Opponents of the bill believe that separation “is the best way to foster a stronger sense of self and independence in the children and minimize the likelihood that they will cover for one another’s academic weaknesses”:
“Twins are never 50-50 in their skills and abilities,” said Stuart Goldman, an assistant professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School who also works at Children’s Hospital Boston. “You want them to develop skills and competencies on their own.”
…”Many people may think this might be micro-parenting . . . but this idea that twins won’t be individuals if they stay in the same classroom is so misguided and not based on research,” said Nancy L. Segal, a psychology professor and director of the Twins Studies Center at California State University, Fullerton.
Other parents would prefer to keep their twins together, however, or at least have the power to decide when their children are ready to move into separate classrooms. The Globe article references “a rising number” of parents who complain that “forcing twins to separate in the classroom can cause anxiety and depression, with crying, bed-wetting, withdrawal from classmates, and disengagement from classwork.”
Is this really a legislative issue, though? Why not make decisions regarding classroom placement on an individual, case-by-case basis, instead of falling back on a blanket piece of legislation? District officials in Carlisle, MA operate under a policy that seems both sensible and effective to me: discuss the benefits and drawbacks of separating a set of twins with their parents, taking the individual needs, idiosyncrasies, and desires of the children into account.
At the only elementary school in Carlisle, the principal, teachers, and a psychologist will advocate for separation after meeting with parents on kindergarten placements, but Superintendent Marie Doyle said the district ultimately lets parents choose.
“The challenge with twins is that you have a dominant and submissive twin,” Doyle said. “If you keep them together in same classroom, the dominant twin will continue to speak for the other sibling and make decisions.”
Certainly a valid point, but should school officials still be allowed to overrule parents who want their twins to remain together, as has been the practice in many Massachusetts school districts for decades? I’m not so sure.
(4 votes, average: 5 out of 5)
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7 Comments to
“Should Twins Always Be Separated in the Classroom?”
The problem is that some schools refuse to consult or consider a parents input into this decision. They take a one size fits all approach which is totally inappropriate.
As a twin myself, I don’t think it should be up to the parents or the school. Ultimately, it should be up to the twins. No one can really tell how up to seperation or being together the two children are. If they want to be appart, putting them together may cause resentment; a feeling of anger that they can’t be the little individuals that they hope to be. And, as mentioned above, forced seperation can be devastating.
But then there is the possibility that one wants to stay together and the other wants to be seperated. This would be a vevery hard situation for the parents, though probably to be expected.
Also, though there could be the fear that the dominant twin would do the talking for the more submissive twin, there is a problem of the more submissive twin shutting down. There is a problem of shyness that might only be coped with by the sibling being there, building some confidence. The child may allways be a little shy, but it doesn’t do any permanent damage. I assure you, by experience. I’ve turned out pretty well, I’d say.
I have twins, and am leaning towards a trial seperation of class rooms. No matter if this decision is right or wrong; the idea that a gradeschool age child can make this decision is ludicris. Should we also turn over other important decisions ? bedtime, candy and unhealthy food rations…..etc.
A child will pick whats comfortable generally not whats best.
Heh, so children can’t make decisions for themselves. In my opinion, at that young age, being thrust into a new environment of school, very little will be “comfortable”. Will it damage the child to put them in the same class, or to seperate them? I admit you can’t give them a say about EVERYTHING but giving them some decision will not only give them more confidence. They don’t have to rely on you for everything. Things that will make them healthy or unhealthy are up to the parent, but other choices should be up to them.
Either way has it’s advantages and disadvantages.
I hope I didn’t disrespect you in anyway, tc. If I did, I apologize. But, ask your kids what they want. If it’s not working, then you will all learn from that decision. If it does, then it is one step towards independence for your young little adults-to-be.
I am a parent of twins and I am just begining to research if my boys should be seperated when they start kindergarten. I do not want them to be…but I’m trying to keep an open mind. I feel that they should have time to create and learn about the very special bond between them during elementry school. When they get to junior high they will have opportunities to choose classes, and or doing more together or apart. Having a twin is a gift and I believe there is a reason they have been put together and I think they need time to learn about that bond.
If you know of any sites, or books that will help me in my research please email me at
amber_djezd@hotmail.com
Thank you. ~
I am a twin. It is wrong to seperate any loving relationship period. We get caught up in wrecking anything people may enjoy out of predjudice. The worst thing you could possibly do is take a very special bond and ruin it in any way. I have twins, one boy and one girl, they are amazing together. I consider myself an expert, I am a twin and I have twins. It is a special bond that non twin know nothing about. Why should a non twin dictate what is best for my twins, oh from reading some sort of book writen by an non twin, lol.
I am a twin and I can tell you the danger of having twins together in a classroom is not that one is more dominant than the other: it’s the competition. Having twins measure themselves against the same set of standards causes them to replace the standards with each other - they are only a good student if they are better than their twin. It continues until they reach a point where they are no longer in a similar environment - normally once they reach college. They should always be separated because putting them together creates an inferiority complex in both.
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