Schools and Prisons

An articulate and well -read seventh grader sat next to me on the bus and talked about literature with me today. Bright as he was, he was stressed. He's in a local school now, but in 2 years, he'll have to try to get into one of the many school options available for high school. He would prefer to stay in his neighborhood, but no monies have been put in the poorly equipped & poorly functioning neighborhood school. He has no idea in which part of the city he'll be in. There are many like him, bright and stressed. There are some not as mentally agile as he and without learned parents. With this kind of stress, the likelihood of their dropping out or getting kicked out of school is very strong. But woo-wee, there is the now privately owned
prison system, opening its doors eagerly to those kids
who can't handle the new school system.