In Foucault's essay Panopticism there is a main focus on discipline. The town is separated into different sections and rows to make sure everyone is being disciplined correctly. Looking further into discipline Foucault focuses on many different ways that they do this, one being laboratories. In past experiences I have noticed some forms are laboratory work throughout the school system, such as placement of students depending on their advancement. I believe that this had both negative and positive effects on my schooling to this day.

A term that Foucault uses to explain separation is laboratories. His main goal here is to separate individuals and alter there behavior. "But the Panopticon was also a laboratory; it could be used as a machine to carry out experiments, to alter behaviour, to train or correct individuals."(Foucault, 247) The meaning behind this is that he wanted to try different experiments by separating different groups of people, alter both of the two groups behavior in different ways to try and come to a conclusion on which way is right to correct the individual. He thought this would give more opportunities because they would learn more once they found out others were taught and believed differently. This education idea was mainly used on orphans. (Foucault, 247). He uses his laboratory experiments in both positive and negative ways and relates it to the main concept that is explained through this essay, which is of discipline. He views this as positive because he believes it give each student who was educated a chance to learn more about that they had been taught, as well as making people better for the future. A negative view of this is that because different groups are learning different things, they may never know what the right information is. 

A time where I saw this used extremely often was through out high school. The way that it worked was students were separated into levels into skill advancement. There were four levels that the student chose from, level one were the slow learners and level four were the advanced learners. There was a major difference between these levels, in the level one classes the students tended to act out more than the students in level four classes. Although all of the levels taught the same material, the level four students had an advantage in being more successful because they covered more material. This is not exactly the same as laboratories in Panopticon but it relates in the way people were separated by levels because they we taught different information in the end.

These levels were very different from one another each was taught at a different pace so students could retain the information without falling behind. Even if the student had trouble with school they still earned the chance to make an A or B for the class. This is positive because a student who tends to struggle in school could still keep the confident to pass and not drop out because they fell behind quickly. A positive for the level four students, which are highly advanced, is that with all their hard work they can become extremely successful. With being able to keep up with the extensive information, it gives them a chance to go above and beyond to reach the higher goals such as be more than financially stable. Although there are positives to this approach there are also a few drawbacks. The negative effects of the level system is that the student is not required the overload of work such as the higher-level students. Although these students struggle more with school, it is not fair to not assign just as many projects or homework. The student in these classes should be required just as much work even if it is not as much material being learned. This is negative because a student in a lower level may want to be just as successful as the student in a higher level and they are not given all the tools to make it happen. This causes some students to slack off more knowing they can still pass the class is they do not do as much work. Another negative affect is that students may choose what level they want to take; therefore if someone wants an easy year they will take a lower lever. I have seen this first hand with students capable of a level four class, take a level two because they want to slack off. This is personal preference and depends on how motivated the student is to succeed but in schooling students should be pushed to the best of their ability. This system could also be discouraging to the students. Teachers must sign off for the student to be accepted to a level, and if the teacher thinks the student will struggle in a higher-level class it could be very discouraging. If a student feels discouraged throughout their schooling process, they may be less likely to further their education. Separating students into levels has it pros and cons but I believe there are many more negatives than there are positive. Students should feel that they could succeed no matter what their ability is and should not be brought down from that.

Looking back on the level system I had always seen it as something very positive but now when I think of the levels in terms of skill levels it is a little discouraging. Never being in a higher-level class makes me wonder if it did not prepare me for college as we as a higher-level would have. I was not challenging myself because I felt I could not take the advanced courses and would fail if I tried. I do not believe the level system should be changed because it does fit the needs of all students whether they are advanced learners or slower learners, it gives each student the equal opportunity to succeed. What should be changed is that you are not separated into level, but the guidance counselors are the ones that make your schedule and place you in the classes without the label of level three or level one. This could make students feel as though they are just as equal to all the other students in the school.

Foucaults Panopticism related to my schooling because I felt as though I was being separated for my education and did not receive as much knowledge as the higher level students. The laboratory work in Panopticism says, the students are separated and taught different information. When using laboratory work it must be done and analyzed very closely at each different schooling system because it can be both negative and positive for the students. 

