I feel strongly that little anecdotes...the day-to-day life that kids lead in Casa by the Sea (and ALL other WWASPS schools - there is no difference, and the physical horror of Tranquility Bay is equal to the mental horror of Cross Creek) is a powerful message to parents to keep their kids out of WWASPS. Our grandaughter now lives with us, after spending her entire 14th year in Casa by the Sea, being retrieved into a step-parent hell, and finally moving in with us. She misses the *concept* of a loving parent, and has to suffice with grandparents/aunts/cousins and a large circle of new high school friends. She is adamant that she will live with us until college, job, or maturity takes her away to other adventures. She is never going "home".
In Casa...I asked once if she ever was disciplined by being on her knees for extended periods. Her answer: "No, but we were on our knees in the hallway a lot every time there was a middle-of-the night roll call." These headcounts occured frequently. Why? Maybe to check for midnight runaways, but really it was to disturb the sleep patterns and tire inmates before a seminar was scheduled..."soften them up". IS THIS WHAT YOU WANT FOR YOUR CHILD?
In Casa...although she was never beaten (that I know of), she spent nearly her first 2 months in solitary confinement. She knows boys at Casa who were taken across the freeway from the oceanside facility and run up and down the very steep hill as punishment. The kids were force-run until they vomitted or passed out. IS THIS THE CARE YOU EXPECTED WHEN YOU SIGNED OVER YOUR CHILD TO STRANGERS?
In Casa...you are known by your number. Recently we say a billboard advertising JetBlue's airline strategy as "We don't think of YOU as E8". Funny ad. She said she was Number 4 for nearly a year. IS THIS A PRISON OR A THERAPEUTIC BEHAVIOR MODIFICATION FACILITY?
In Casa...I was talking about our old softball team from years ago, the one whose funny name was "The Barochos". This means "drunks" in Spanish. She said, "I was usually called [I can't remember the word]". I asked what that meant. "It means 'Liar'". IS THIS THE LOVING ENVIRONMENT YOU WERE PROMISED?
In Casa...she lost her single bar of soap in the first week at Casa. She went without soap for her cold showers the entire month. She was grateful when her mother sent a package including soap. Her mother was billed $95 additionally every month to pay for "toiletries". (Toilet paper is precious, often unavailable for days at a time, and strictly limited due to the poor plumbing at this failed hotel complex.) DID YOU EXPECT TO SHELL OUT SO MUCH EXTRA FOR BASIC NECESSITIES?
In Casa...the promised "education" is one from packets, with no teacher available at any time. She "passed" Geometry by learing the sequence of test answers from others...A, then C, then D, etc. She had to drop Geometry in our new high school because she had no clue whatsoever that it entailed geometric forms constructed with rulers and compasses (forbidden at Casa). She even had to drop from Spanish II to Spanish I here because her language skills were developed from street-Spanish guards at Casa, themselves unaware of the grammar and vocabulary that ordinary US high-schoolers learn in class. The guards/"mamas" earn between $1.00 and $2.50 per hour. WHERE IS YOUR MONEY GOING, IF NOT TO THE CHILD YOU ARE TRYING TO HELP?
In Casa...they say your child can be "cured" in XXX months (usually commensurate to how much they feel you are willing to pay). This time period has absolutely nothing to do with the progress the child makes, since punishment and demotions are handed out by other kids with their own agenda. DID YOU KNOW THAT NO TRAINED PROFESSIONALS ARE AVAILABLE, AND THAT DAY-TO-DAY SUPERVISION IS GIVEN OVER TO OTHER INMATES STILL TOO "SICK" TO RETURN TO THEIR OWN HOMES?
In Casa...they browbeat children into submission, and promise parents that the good behavior is a result of them "seeing the light". The changed behavior is more often fear of punishment, distorted understanding of values (brainwashing), or simply the kid growing up while incarcerated and realizing that life can be better. DO YOU KNOW THAT THE CHILDREN ARE CHANGED IN WAYS YOU DON'T EXPECT, THAT THEY REMEMBER AND CRY, DREAM NIGHTMARES, SUFFER DEPRESSION FOR THE REST OF THEIR LIVES, EVEN WHEN THEY BECOME GRANDPARENTS THEMSELVES???
In our own experience, we have seen an entire extended family ripped apart. No one speaks to the mother who dispatched her child to Casa. The child herself now has difficulty talking on the phone to her mother (having seen her once for lunch at a restaurant in the 8 months since being with us). They have nothing in common. ARE YOU READY TO LOSE YOUR CHILD FOREVER?
WWASPS is ready to take your money. Pay up, and believe the pretty pictures in the brochures. It is a horrible disaster happening to your child, and you don't even know it because it is a WWASPS secret.
