I served as an Islamic minister for the Volunteer Services of the New York City Department of Corrections for 22 years.
The first day I visited a prison to conduct Islamic religious services, my immediate impression was that the architecture of a prison was identical to that of a public school. As time went on, not only did I see little to prove my initial impression was wrong, I also came to realize other similarities.
In fact, I have a clear and distinct memory of my elementary school principal telling me "You must learn to conform.”