Public high "school," or high security prison?

I graduated from Clay High School, a.k.a. "Clay Prison," in South Bend Indiana where we had security guards, some armed. We had to wear ID tags hanging from lanyards around our necks at all times. No backpacks in class, we simply had to lug 40 pounds of books in our arms. No jackets in class even when the temperature (set downtown by the Community School Corporation the week before) is 60 degrees. Naturally the reason we may not bring backpacks and jackets to class is the danger of students concealing a weapon. It goes without saying that girls may bring enormous purses to class that might fit an assault rifle inside. The few windows the school did have were cemented shut and covered with blinds, except one huge window in the green room for Bio (where students were strictly forbidden to go). We were not allowed in the hallways even during lunch without a pass. If a teacher finished class early, we couldn't leave; rather we had to wait until the hellish bell rang signifying our release. On our lunch break, we were not allowed to walk down the street to Taco Bell; rather we were forced to buy lunch from the school, confined to the cafeteria. For a while we were allowed to eat outside in a fenced in little yard behind the cafeteria that overlooked NOTHING, but that ended when the security guards allowed students to smoke out there. Whenever we heard any speaker in high school, the principle would have to beg us to be quiet. The problem all boiled down to one thing--nobody wanted to be there.

Compare that to college. If you don't go to class, you hurt yourself. Professors rarely hold you accountable for every step of your education, but several times a semester test you on the steps you are expected to have taken. I don’t remember a college professor ever asking more than once for silence in the classroom. Everyone who is there wants to be there. We're paying for it for crying out loud!

Why do you think private high schools have better records than public schools? Public schools are free and don't have the right to exclude and they are not held accountable for their actions. If a public school turns out a bunch of dumb graduates, the government throws more money at them. If a private school turns out a bunch of dumb graduates, their record is tarnished and parents stop sending their kids there. It works the same in college. Enrollment will drop if graduates have trouble getting jobs on account of their poor record in school.

St. Augustine said in his Confessions, "Free curiosity has greater power to stimulate learning than rigorous coercion."