Kids were resentful and complaining about each other, about being there. There is a fascinating alternative middle school in a church's Sunday school rooms. The pastor is the principal. She believes in spanking and has a nook set aside for paddling. A parent must agree to limited corporal punishment before a child is admitted.
Teachers are authoritarian.
Rules are simple, clear and written on the walls. Kids seemed a bit resigned, but they were paying attention. The place was buzzing. Education was happening. Then there was the sullen scene in the basement of a city settlement house, where the dominant sense was of incarceration.