Jeremy Bentham: Panopticon Prison
The Panopticon Prison derived from the ideas of Jeremy Bentham, who believed that prisoners needed to feel as though they were under constant surveillance. He designed the Panopticon Prison to be circular with a guard tower positioned centrally, in order for the guards to monitor all areas of the prison. As well as this Bentham had venetian blinds intentionally positioned in order to avert the prisoners from watching the guards, whilst the guards could still have an unimpeded view of the prisoners (McShane and Williams, 1996 p. 546).
It has been suggested that schools are very much designed like a Panopticon, as open hallways and centrally placed offices allow for the ‘...surveillance of teachers and students by outsiders…with windows in their doors…allow an individual…to scan the interior of the classroom without being—or barely—being seen.’ (Provenzo, 2008 p.92). Thus schools are designed around the idea that children and teachers should be watched at all times by superiors, in the same respect that guards watch over prisoners.