Schools and Prisons: A Comparison

A few years back, I was on an Adventure Walk with some tree year olds and we stopped at a public park across from a child care center. As the kids I was with played, I watched a group of kids about the same age march in single file onto the center's asphalt surfaced playground. It was surrounded by a high fence and had very few play options. the scene reminded me so much of a prison that I started making up dialogue for the kids: 

"Sammy, Sammy come here. See's how the guards ain't watching the North fence? I'm busting out! Are ya with me?"

"Claudia, I want out as bad as you, but escape is impossible I tell ya. You'll never make it!"

"Hey, you two, back over here where I can keep an eye on ya. Away from the fence!"

The school/prison connection is made frequently. In my book, Let Them Play, with coauthor Denita Dinger, a college grad describes the first day at her first real job in an early learning program:

“It felt more like I was being coached on how to avoid being shived in the yard on my first day in prison than on how to work with children. I was actually told, ‘Hugs are dangerous. Avoid them.’ I almost didn’t go

back.” 

Everyone from the New York Civil Liberties Union, to this blogger, to the creators of this graphic comparing school meals and prison meals see similarities and connections between schools and prisons.

Heck, even the Sex Pistols saw it:

 

Here's a diagram of a recently built school:

 And here is a diagram of an 1880's prison:

The design similarities are striking. terminology my differ, but both structures focus on controlling, separating, and restricting their inhabitants. Here is a comparison of the physical space of prisons and schools:

The Physical Space
	Prisons	Schools
General Design	Utilitarian Layout Focusing On  Safely Housing Groups Of People	Utilitarian Layout Focusing On  Safely Housing Groups Of People
Grounds Are Called	A Campus	A Campus
Buildings Are Divided Into	Cell Blocks--To Separate Groups Of Prisoners	Pods--To Separate Groups Of Students
Population Spends Time In	Cells	Classrooms
Outside Space	The Yard--High Fence, Not Much To Do, Lots Of Rules, Guards With Shot Guns.	The Playground--High Fence, Not Much To Do, Lots Of Rules, Teachers With Whistles.
Windows	Not Many Of Them, Covered With Bars.	They Exist, But They Are Seldom Open And You Get In Trouble For Looking Out Them Too Much.
Accessing The Facility	Access Is Secured. Visitors Are Searched And May Have To Pass Through A Metal Detector.	Access Is Secured. Entries Are Locked. Visitors May Have To Pass Through A Metal Detector.
Movement In The Facility	Is Tightly Controlled. There Are Lots Of Lock And Movement Is Often Controlled By Bells Or Electronic Sirens	Is Tightly Controlled. There Are Lots Of Lock And Movement Is Often Controlled By Bells Or Electronic Sirens
Walls	Cement blocks with Calming, Bland Paint Choices	Cement blocks with Calming, Bland Paint Choices
Movement Through The Facility	Nice Straight Lines--No Touching	Nice Straight Lines--No Touching
Fixtures	Industrial Designs, Built For Utility, Lacking Aesthetics	Industrial Designs, Built For Utility, Lacking Aesthetics

There are more similarities.

Here is how the people in a prison compare to the people in a school:

The People
	Prisons	Schools
The Place's Leader	The Warden—Oversees The Operation	The Principal—Oversees The Operation
The Facility's Population	Inmates—Expected To Do What They Are Told, Behave, And Learn How To Function Outside The Prison’s Walls	Students—Expected To Do What They Are Told, Behave, And Learn To Function Outside Of School.
The Staff	Correctional Officers—Expected To Control The Prisoners	Teachers—Expected To Control And Teach The Students

And here are some other comparisons:

Other Comparisons
	Prisons	Schools
Food	Not Usually Good	Not Usually Good
Meals	You Eat At Set Times And Eat What You're Given	You Eat At Set Times And Eat What You're Given
Inappropriate Behaviors Are Addressed	Using Negative Consequences--Loss Of Privileges	Using Negative Consequences--Loss Of Privileges
If You’re Bad You Go To	The Hole—A Solitary And Quiet Place For Alone Time Where You Are Supposed To Sit And Think About What You Did.	In School Suspension--A Room Full Of "Trouble Makers" Who Are Supposed To Sit Quietly And Think About What They Did.
Leadership Structure	Top Down Authoritarian Structure	Top Down Authoritarian Structure
Personal Autonomy	Very Limited	Very Limited
Personal Freedom	Not Much	Not Much
Human Contact	Strictly Controlled	Strictly Controlled
Rules	Lots Of Them	Lots Of Them
If You Finish The Program You’re Called A	Parolee	Graduate
If You Escape You’re Called A	Escapee	Dropout
Clothing	Dress Codes Or Uniforms	Dress Codes Or Uniforms

The reason for these similarities has a lot to do with the industrial revolution. 

There was a big push way back when to create efficient systems for  completing specific tasks. The problem is that while efficiently designed  systems are good for building Model T automobiles

or taking apart cows, 

they fall short when it comes to meeting human needs.  

The workers in the car-putting-together factories and cow-taking-apart factories suffered a lot from boredom and repetitive motion injuries.

The kids in our factory model schools suffer too. 

If we want to effectively educate children--or rehabilitate prisoners--we can not loss sight of their humanity. It needs to be considered in the design of our buildings and in they systems that operate in those buildings.