Will Hilton use jail time for self-improvement?

She did it, reported to jail as ordered. Now the press is staking out the county jail in Lynwood, Calif., seeking a glimpse of socialite Paris Hilton in standard-issue orange jail garb.

Sheesh. Isn't there any real news out there?

Best I can tell, the only thing the 26-year-old Hilton is famous for is being famous. It almost feels as if her 23-day jail term for violating probation on a drunken driving plea is yet another publicity stunt.

As Hilton explained in a red-carpet interview prior to the MTV Movie Awards Sunday afternoon, shortly before reporting to the jail, "I did have a choice to go to a pay jail," she told the Los Angeles Times. "But I declined because I feel like the media portrays me in a way that I'm not, and that's why I wanted to go to county, to show that I can do it and I'm going to be treated like everyone else. I'm going to do the time, I'm going to do it the right way."

Is this what it's all about for Hilton, earning street cred?

Sure, Hilton will eat the same food and have the same lockup time as other inmates, but she is being housed in a "special needs" unit where she will have no cellmate. The unit is reserved for police officers, public officials, celebrities and other high-profile inmates.

So much for my hope that in doing some time Hilton would contemplate the circumstances and actions that brought her to this place in her life. It's not as though the heir-apparent to a vast hotel and real estate dynasty will be spending quality time with people who come from very different circumstances.

Most jail and prison inmates tend to either get their acts together and never go back to jail or continue down the same road. Often, the difference between the two outcomes is self-improvement, particularly for those individuals who earn trade certificates, high school diplomas or even college degrees. The fact that the Jordan School District awarded 251 diplomas to inmates during a commencement ceremony Monday should be viewed as a very hopeful sign. According to a KSL-TV report, prison officials report that more than 50 percent of Utah inmates come to prison without a high school degree.

It's impossible to know why people don't graduate from high school. Someone with an undiagnosed learning disability may become so frustrated in school, they may quit. There may be very low parental expectations about finishing school. There may be untreated mental illness or substance abuse. Or a family may experience such tremendous economic stress that a child feels compelled to go to work.