Kim Murphy
"As soon as you're born, they make you feel small." It's what schools have been devoted to ever since mass education began. In Victorian times our rulers openly proclaimed that schools were to beat conformity into workers' children, inculcating the work ethic and breaking their spirits. Even if less overtly, they are still conformist prisons today. Not surprisingly, this has produced rebellion from students, from taking over and occupying their schools, to mass walk-outs and refusal to be disciplined. These episodes are part of the struggle of the working class against oppression - which doesn't wait until we reach adulthood.