Back to School

Back to School: A Comparative Essay Walking back into school for the first time in years sent a rush of memories through my mind, from the tree I used to climb after school to the conversation that lead to the premature loss of my virginity and so much more. Surprisingly, my emotions lead me to something else altogether…looking at the dull concrete walls, iron laced windows and towering fences I realized; public school truly is a prison. Mind you, your average middle or high school may not have iron bars or shackles but you can “bet your bottom dollar” public schools and prisons are more alike than not. Both include guards, gangs, crowded cafeterias with bad food, strict schedules determined by vociferous bells, signed documents in order to get in or out and only God knows who will get out alive. The only things somewhat cheery about my former schools are the student murals cracked and damaged by barbaric vandals. Every student gets the same sentence: three consecutive sentences of five years, three years and four years before you can be considered a productive member of society. You might get out early for good behavior, but you are probably more likely to end up with time added on. Thinking back to my time in the “Big House”; I always felt like a criminal. Between the IDs and hall passes it seemed like no matter where I went there was someone making sure I didn’t do something horrible. Getting sent to the torture chamber called “The Hole” for the most asinine things like having a pack of matches, a metal fork or even wearing a polo that wasn’t just the right shade of green. The Hole truly was psychological torture; a tiny room with no clocks (you’d drop your phone and watch in a box as you walked into the room), the temperature was permanently set to 50° degrees Fahrenheit. If a single word was spoken (without permission from the teacher) it gave you an automatic extra day in The Hole and you’d be marched into the musty cafeteria far too late in the afternoon