I'd argue school has always been prisonlike but it's gotten more overt. It's a complete mess. The Game is rigged so hard that it's not worth playing. I cannot in good faith tell a young person to focus on school work and getting into a good college because it didn't work for me. If I was 14 again I'd coast through high school getting mostly Cs and learn stuff on own time. (Remember kids you gotta do Both, not just The former)