In “Classroom Management in a Diverse Society,” (2003) Noguera draws parallels between prisons and schools based on the ideal of conformity and punishments that take place at both. Students are required to conform to the classroom ideals and rules or be ostracized by being removed from the group. “Consistent with the way we approach crime in society, the assumption is that safety and order can be achieved by removing ‘bad’ individuals and keeping them away from others who are presumed to be ‘good’ and law abiding” (343). Prisons and schools can be compared by their mutual understanding of punishment and reward. If a student is behaving poorly, s/he is removed from the group. In prison, if an inmate is behaving poorly, s/he is placed in solitary confinement. Every minute of the day in school is timed out, using signals to move to the next activity. In most elementary schools you will see students walking silently in two straight lines through the hall, being complimented for their silence and compliance or being reprimanded for stepping out of the line and subsequently being moved to the back. Through Foucault, Shieh describes the similarity between prisons and schools. “…In their function, punishments as represented by prisons and education in schools are remarkably similar. Both, he argues, represent a form of social control that has permeated the entire social body, effectively lowering the level ‘from which it becomes natural and acceptable to be punished’” (29-30). By exerting complete control, and thus excluding students who do not conform to the schools ideals, how are teachers limiting their students’ opportunities, experiences and explorations? If there is a need to control, it may be because teachers feel the potential of chaos erupting in the classroom.
Here is an example of what people are posting on youtube in response to schools as prisons