In modern Western societies, several institutions exist that are designed to influence people. None target young people more than the institution of education. Schools accept children from the age of three and are required to keep them in their system until the age of sixteen. For that reason, there is no doubt that schools, and the staff within them, play a major role in shaping the character and personalities of young people. Regrettably, some high schools negatively affect children within their system. Set in the late-1960s, the film High School exhibits an American school with an oppressive and hypocritical regime. While my high school experiences occurred over thirty years following the filming of this movie, the problems faced by students in High School was surprisingly similar to what some students faced at my high school. This essay will attempt to prove that although times have changed, the effects of authority and power on those in the position of holding power and the oppressed rarely change.
             The teachers are permitted too much power within high schools and they abuse this privilege accordingly. Lord Acton once said, "Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely." Proof of this is seen regularly in High School. One notable event, in particular, was when a bully gets into a fight with a smaller student. During the principal's office interrogation, the bully is apologetic and understands that he made a mistake. Despite the bully's repeated his admissions of guilt, the principal rejects the student's apologies because the principal believes they are insincere. At my high school, teacher oppression was surprisingly similar. Almost a year ago, a friend and I were gambling with quarters and dice in the cafeteria. A teacher who caught us demanded the money in our wallets, in addition to our dice and quarters. He would not have made such outrageous requests if he thought he could have gotten away ...