Why Are Struggling Parents Such An Easy Mark?

[Anonymous]

When I attended private parochial school as a teen, my parents had to pay for tuition, books and uniforms, all separate charges. Lunch was also a separate charge. What is the difference between that and therapeutic boarding schools having different charges for tuition, and clothing? I thought that was standard practice to have uniforms not included with regular tuition.

[AtomicAnt]

On 2005-10-02 08:17:00, Anonymous wrote:

"When I attended private parochial school as a teen, my parents had to pay for tuition, books and uniforms, all separate charges. Lunch was also a separate charge. What is the difference between that and therapeutic boarding schools having different charges for tuition, and clothing? I thought that was standard practice to have uniforms not included with regular tuition."

This whole uniform discussion is pretty trivial, really. My son is in a private K-8 school and has to wear the school uniform of pullover-polo and khaki pants. It gives us more laundry to do. We tolerate it because our son likes his school and his friends there. Philosophically, I don't care much for uniforms.

[AtomicAnt]

The conflict I felt between delight at this rich dialogue and contempt at their invalid conclusions insired me to coin a new term:



WITTIOT!  :rofl:


You heard it here first, folks----"

You found conclusions? My bowling buddies were just making fun of the whole thing (and me). The dialogue was entirely tongue-in-cheek.

I wrote the post because I found it interesting how alien the concept of 'programs' was to this group of men. These guys are all in their 60s and 70s and have grown children. They are blue coller guys without the money to send their kids into expensive programs. They are mostly veterans. They are the kind of guys who believe in the 'school of hard knocks.'

[Helena Handbasket]

On 2005-10-02 08:17:00, Anonymous wrote:

"When I attended private parochial school as a teen, my parents had to pay for tuition, books and uniforms, all separate charges. Lunch was also a separate charge. What is the difference between that and therapeutic boarding schools having different charges for tuition, and clothing? I thought that was standard practice to have uniforms not included with regular tuition."

The uniform argument is trivial.  The real argument here is what constitutes a SCHOOL.  Just because you amass a group of kids, throw them in uniforms and make them behave - it does not make your little group a SCHOOL.

The fact that these "emotional growth" places call themselves SCHOOLS is the FIRST reason why (check the title of the thread) struggling parents are such an easy mark.

Parents who seek out this stuff actually believe their failing student will graduate from one of these SCHOOLS, and waltz into Harvard.  Ain't gonna happen.

[Anonymous]

Well- seems a lot of kids from Oakley and Carlbrook are attending some top colleges or private high schools post-program.  I know this for a fact- where are you getting your information that the academics are worthless?

[AtomicAnt]

On 2005-09-30 02:01:00, Anonymous wrote:



"I was curious about something. (For the record, I myself hate behavior mod and emotional growth schools.) I would really love to ask atomicAnt's friends, what would they do if their child was depressed and suicidal, and had already attempted suicide once or twice? Mental hospitals can help in some cases, but really don't in terms of helping a teen grow socially, and can make a kid depressed even more because they are under lock and key and around low-functioning people, and behavior mod schools don't address the problem, they just brainwash your kid into thinking they don't have an issue anymore. (If "successful".)


"Smacking some sense" into them isn't going to work. That's just going to make them feel shittier and more worthless and feed into their belief that they should die. Obviously, the kid has problems outside that of a normal teen, so what would you do? You obviously don't want to end up with a dead kid, you know?"

 
My buddies are more compassionate than my post might suggest. One of them has a daughter that suffers from depression. She was diagnosed as 'clinically' not 'situationally' depressed. She spent a few weeks in a hospital and had to have therapy and medication through her teen years into her early twenties. It was difficult for the family to deal with. The daughter is now all grown up with kids of her own and doing fine.

I phoned one up and he basically said that as parents we have to realize that at some point in their lives, our kids will make their own decisions and their own mistakes. We can give them advice and guidance and hope they listen, but we can't live for them. At some point, you have to let it go.

He then said, "Ant, get off the fucking computer and go outside and play with your kid!"

So I am going to take that advice and go play. Bye for today, y'all.

[Helena Handbasket]

On 2005-10-02 09:28:00, Anonymous wrote:

"Well- seems a lot of kids from Oakley and Carlbrook are attending some top colleges or private high schools post-program.  I know this for a fact- where are you getting your information that the academics are worthless?"

I don't have time to search for the post, but someone from a WWASPs school some months ago found out their "Diploma" was worthless.  I can't remember all the details, but I believe this girl actually had to sit for the GED when she supposedly thought she graduated.

[Troll Control]

On 2005-10-02 09:28:00, Anonymous wrote:

"Well- seems a lot of kids from Oakley and Carlbrook are attending some top colleges or private high schools post-program.  I know this for a fact- where are you getting your information that the academics are worthless?"

From the "students" who's unaccredited diplomas couldn't get them into college without mommy and daddy funding a new wing of the library or building a field house.

The diplomas are worth NOTHING from unaccredited schools with unlicensed faculty.

[Helena Handbasket]

He then said, "Ant, get off the fucking computer and go outside and play with your kid!"



So I am going to take that advice and go play. Bye for today, y'all."

Why, Ant, what a novel approach!  You're alright in my book, guy!

[Anonymous]

But there are plenty of emotional growth schools where a diploma IS worth something, where you can take AP courses, SAT prep etc. and get into fine colleges.  
You conveniently omit about 80% of the truth.

[Helena Handbasket]

On 2005-10-02 09:39:00, Anonymous wrote:

"But there are plenty of emotional growth schools where a diploma IS worth something, where you can take AP courses, SAT prep etc. and get into fine colleges.  

You conveniently omit about 80% of the truth."

Ok, so we're unaware.  Give us a list.

[Troll Control]

On 2005-10-02 09:39:00, Anonymous wrote:

"But there are plenty of emotional growth schools where a diploma IS worth something, where you can take AP courses, SAT prep etc. and get into fine colleges.  

You conveniently omit about 80% of the truth."

Carlbrook School  
Name: Carlbrook School  
Type: Boarding Schools  
Address: 3046 Carlbrook RD
Halifax, VA 24592
USA
Phone: (434) 476-2406  
Website: Carlbrook School website
 
Ages: 15 - 18  
Gender: Co-Ed  
Description: Carlbrook serves the needs of bright, underachieving students who have historically challenged convention and questioned authority.



 
Enroll Info: All students are expected to successfully complete a wilderness experience prior to matriculation on the main campus. Students typically have a WISC-III FS-IQ of 105 or higher and most will have completed at least 1 year of high school prior to enrollment.

 
Student Profile: Spirited students experiencing difficulty in the mainstream. Academic difficulty are diminished self-esteem, impulsivity, increased irritability at home, shifts in peer alignment, experimentation with drugs or alcohol, non-participation in organized extracurricular activities, pervasive irresponsibility, social withdrawal, lack of organizational skills and general apathy
Academics: The school year will consist of five 9-week academic periods comprising three full semesters, to correspond with tri-annual graduations. As such, most students have the opportunity to complete up to two academic years of study over the course of their 15-month education at the school.
 
Activities: Basketball, soccer, softball, volleyball, badminton and other team sports. Individual sports such as cross-country running, hiking, biking, aerobics and weight training.Carlbrook students are currently involved with a wide variety of local and regional organizations, including the Halifax County Humane Society, Boston Commons Nursing Home, Feed the Community, and Habitat for Humanity
Campus: School facilities include the original mansion which houses the school library, computer lab and administrative offices, a new 13,000 square foot Commons building, a kitchen and dining facility, a small infirmary, eight modern classrooms with high-speed internet access, two physical and biological science labs, a seminar/workshop facility, and two dormitory buildings.
 
Family Involvement: The Carlbrook School is resolute in its commitment to involve parents in as many facets of the educational experience as possible.
Length of Stay: 15-month educational model
 
Philosophy: Honor is the foundation of self-perception and positive self-image.
Tuition/Costs: Monthly Tuition: $4,900
_________________________________________________
$4900/mo and this place is UNACCREDITED.  They have no status with any accreditation organization, not even the phony one (Northwest) used by WWASP and some others - NONE.

Tell me again how a kid can get a "diploma" from an unaccredited "school"...?  Last I heard, this is called "fraud."

Ivy Ridge in NY was doing the same thing as Carlbrook - issuing "diplomas" without accreditation.  

They were exposed when some "students" got rejected from colleges due to PHONY DIPLOMAS being submitted with their applications.  Parents went to the Attorney General, Ivy Ridge was sued and agreed to repay over $1,000,000.00 in tuition and was ORDERED TO STOP ISSUING "DIPLOMAS" under false pretenses.

The same will happen to Carlbrook, but it takes time.

These places are TC's maquerading as "schools" so they are more palatable to prospective parents and can "justify" their incredible price tag.

If you parents are dumb enough to buy this package then you deserve what you get.  Unfortunately your kids don't deserve what they're getting, but, hey, we already know you don't care about that.

[Helena Handbasket]

Description: Carlbrook serves the needs of bright, underachieving students who have historically challenged convention and questioned authority.

Waldo...Tango...Foxtrot !?!?!?!

NEVER Think outside the Little Boxes*, kids!



*"Little Boxes" by Pete Seeger - based on conformity.

[Anonymous]

On 2005-10-02 09:39:00, Anonymous wrote:

"But there are plenty of emotional growth schools where a diploma IS worth something, where you can take AP courses, SAT prep etc. and get into fine colleges.  

You conveniently omit about 80% of the truth."

You can take the ACT and SAT in WWASPS schools, too. Doesn't mean the diploma is worth anything, as the parents of Ivy Ridge prisoners recently found out and as the rest of us knew for quite some time.

[Troll Control]

On 2005-10-02 10:06:00, Helena Handbasket wrote:

"

Description: Carlbrook serves the needs of bright, underachieving students who have historically challenged convention and questioned authority.

Waldo...Tango...Foxtrot !?!?!?!



NEVER Think outside the Little Boxes*, kids!







*"Little Boxes" by Pete Seeger - based on conformity.
"

Uh, it's WHISKEY...Tango...Foxtrot.

Ironically, it's the phonetic alphabet from the conformity factory - U.S. Armed Services.  Funny.

For the intellectually challenged, or "academic underachievers" it's an acronym for "What The Fuck?"

Just messing with you, Ms. Basket... :wink: