Similarities between School and Prison

Dwayne Harapnuik —  May 3, 2016 — 11 Comments

School and Prison
Source: Learners Voice: Are we really listening? by Graham Brown-Martin

Obviously there are stark differences between school and prison but I couldn’t get the similarities out of my mind after reading the post Learners Voice: Are we really listening? by Graham Brown-Martin in which he points to Ivan Illich’s argument from in his book “Deschooling Society” (1971)

that schools, like prisons, offices and factories have become industrialized institutions hence their similarity in the forms of rules, behaviours and organization.

Dwayne Harapnuik

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11 responses to Similarities between School and Prison

  1. I am doing a project about how school is like a prison as a debate. I am sad to see all the similarities between them. It is so true though. They both have limited freedoms, designated locations, etc. I used to think the opposite of school. Now, I’m not so sure.

  2. Alexander Cudiamat March 3, 2024 at 7:10 am

    That’s why it’s very important to bring back school in the house with parents as teachers.

  3. Why do prisoners in prisons have more protection than our children in schools? That’s the biggest difference between the two.

  4. This is very true and it hurts.

  5. So true..also they use the same busses to get carted away to a brick and mortar institution which is locked from public access; they have prison guard-like teachers and a prison warden-like principal, with only a couple brief bouts of free-time to spend in a fenced-in yard.
    Cheers.

    • At school, we have the same exact trays and are served the same exact food as they are in prison. But get this: we get smaller portions of meat, less fruits, and they skimp out on everything. The food we get is somehow shittier than prison food.

  6. this is true look up i sued the school system on youtube and watch it

  7. All of this is the truth but you know school never wants to look bad so they will be saying I am sorry about (not at sorry) We must change the system.

  8. Dont ask my name May 1, 2020 at 1:12 pm

    Why is this so true

  9. They are both what Erving Goffman called “total institutions”:

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Total_institution

    Same with college fraternities, monasteries, and the army.

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