Are Schools Incarcerating Millions of Young Americans in a Manner Depriving These Students the Opportunity to Learn Effectively? Education Researcher Peter Gray Seems to Think So

Are schools---at least schools as we know them--something on par with prisons?  Boston College psychology professor Peter Gray seems to think so.  He argues that schools, by their very structure, stifle and inhibit student learning.  Gray's viewpoint is provocative and likely controversial.

It will be interesting to see if his argument gains any traction in today's cultural milieu.

Peter Gray's Salon column is linked below.

Peter Gray: Schools as Prisons

"But what if the real problem is school itself? The unfortunate fact is that one of our most cherished institutions is, by its very nature, failing our children and our society.

School is a place where children are compelled to be, and where their freedom is greatly restricted — far more restricted than most adults would tolerate in their workplaces. In recent decades, we have been compelling our children to spend ever more time in this kind of setting, and there is strong evidence (summarized in my recent book) that this is causing serious psychological damage to many of them."

---Peter Gray, Salon