Bill and Wilt: As someone once quipped, “Is it just a coincidence that the time one spends in prison and the time one spends in school are both referred to as ‘terms’?”

[Thanks to Randy Couture]

UPDATE: Doug Farris writes:

I have been a design engineer for a number of years and have been a student of modern architecture even longer. One thing I know for sure is that the same architects and designs for prisons are copied for schools. They use the same principles to lay out both in order to control the “population.” I foresaw this coming many years ago when in grade school in the 60’s they started to seal the windows as a means of controlling the climate inside the classroom under the guise of energy savings. They also took out the natural lighting and incandescent light bulbs and brought in industrial fluorescent lamps that put a pale hue on all of our creativity.

The modern schools have lock-down systems to close off sections when the 3rd graders start a riot. Just like in the prison system.

My wife is from northern NM and was one of the first students to occupy a new high school in Corrales, NM. The students were so in tune with this major shift from learning center to population control and the lack of operable windows that they produced black and white prison tee shirts with the school logo on it and a tag on the back of the shirt stating “Inmates of Cibola High.”

We chose to homeschool our 8 children. At least that way my children can rightly complain about the dictatorial authority they have to live under.

Will Witcher writes:

The update posted on your LRC blog entry from Doug Farris is spot-on. As a civil engineer working in a consulting firm that provides architectural design services for regional schools and prisons, I see the similarities from a design perspective (I should note that I’m not personally involved in the design of these particular projects but work with others who are). I’ve pointed out the similarities to my architect co-workers on occasion; however, I’m usually greeted with the response that “this is what the client wants.” Of course it is.

My home is a couple of blocks from a brand new $12 million elementary school. I can hear the morning announcements read through the school loudspeaker system as I leave for the office in the mornings. It’s reminiscent of some of the old movies depicting Nazi concentration camps. As a homeschool alum, I know that my future children will never darken the door of these federal indoctrination camps.