I don't know what the Victorians tried, but I used the word "dormitory" specifically to reference the living situation faced by most present day college students.
Do you have an objection to what I actually proposed, rather than some straw man from 150 years ago?
What, other than your complete lack of respect for human dignity ? This isn't a "straw man". It is an example of exactly what you suggested.
Are you suggesting people raise their families in dormitories ? It's one thing for students or a military barracks (which are for unmarried soldiers anyway). It's quite another for people wishing to bring up a family in privacy and dignity.
Your post suggests you have little objection to college students and soldiers living in dormitories. Do they not deserve human dignity?
Incidentally, apart from the fact that the parents would have lower status, how is raising a child in a dormitory (shared with the parent) different from raising a child in a home paid for with vouchers?
It's called the workhouse. The Victorians tried it. Read Dickens for example.