During the school year i teach pre-k and when school ends for summer vacation i teach instructional swim at camp (as well as at the Y all year.) I never really gave much thought to the way boys and girls bunks were separated until this summer. The 3 and 4-year-old bunks are boys and girls together but 5-year-olds and up are separated by gender. And now I am trying to understand why at age 5 the separation occurs- is it due to societal opinions on gender?? or is it appropriate based on the way children grow, learn, and play? Because during the school year their classrooms are co-ed, so why should the summer be any different. I have always thought men and women could not be friends, but as young children they should be able to play and have experiences together, within a group setting. I understand that changing for swim may be an issue- but that may be only because WE as a society make it one. Plus this is easy to solve- separate changing areas for boy/girl bunks. Maybe men and women would actually have good adult friendships if they were taught (or forced!! as the case may be) to be friends as children. And this would be a great way for them to gain personal insight about the opposite gender, which could heighten communication between the genders. It is also now strange to me that male counselors can only have boy groups but female counselors have both. Are all 19 to 25 year old males child sex fiends??!!? who knew?? Even activities are different, the girls have gymnastics that isn't even offered to the boys while boys have way more athletic opportunities, like soccer and baseball. I feel like my my opinion about male/female friendships came from social observations and nothing else, and it really makes me reevaluate why i think this way and I'm already changing my opinion.