Timoclea:
ASR was an incredible time of my life. Most of the kids whined and moaned, and griped about the place. The only people who gained anything through it, are the people who wholeheartedly gave thier all to the "process". Most did not do this, and i didn't do it until my 18th birthday half way through the program, when i decided i was going to stay, and not leave.
I am saying that through any type of situation that you do not find agreeable, there is something to be learned, and there is growth to be had. Thus, someone who reads thousand page fantasy novels all day can learn just as much as the meth addict next to them in group therapy. However, you can lead a horse to water but you can't make them drink.
The only thing i enjoyed there were the people. I hated not having my cd's, i hated not watching my favorite tv shows, or even having the freedom to decide that i didnt want to do my homework at 8 o clock tonight, as an 18 year old adult. But i consented, i wasnt there to enjoy, i was there to learn and grow, and thats what I did. Most did not. Some played the part, being a goodie goodie, some wanted to be badasses, and others took a deep hard look at themselves and matured.
What i am trying to say is, the little details are trivial to the process. Reading the latest fantasy novel is not a nessicity. Letters to friends were not a nessicity. They took out all the "luxuries" so that it was just yourself and your friends, so you can focus on what your parents paid $80,000 for.
My basis for saying the isolation was untrue is because i've gone through it Timoclea. I HAVE been there. I went through the school. Enrolled, graduated. Enough.
And no, i was not talking about you, i saw your name at the bottom of the post.
The reason, Timoclea, i seem to be so hostile, defensive and prone to question others honesty with what seems as little reason is because i will stand up for the people who saved my life. The school saved my life, the people saved my life. And the whole time i was there, plenty of people bitched, and moaned and just complained to no end about what was going on, none of them constructive. I was so sick of them talking about it like that, and the one time i look up "academy at swift river forums" in google, there they are again, but this time its grown ass adults bitching! Who havent even been there!
My whole peergroup prospered, and i can account for 3 lives saved due to Swift River, and that, in my opinion, justifies all the petty complaints, "Oh no my books!", "Oh no my cd's!", "Why cant i call grandma when i want to!?".
Yeah im hostile and defensive, that place saved my life and even after graduating i try as hard as i can to hold on to the place, and keep it in my day to day life.
Nobody ever intentionally hurt a child at that place, and it sounds like any trouble with kids enrolled there who aren't "wild" enough to personally grow is a responsibility that rests squarely on the parents shoulders.
The reason i got heated is because the school doesn't hold your hand through it, the problems you mentioned don't seem to justify saying
"there is *substantial* room for improvement in their practices."
*or*
"if they had proper regulatory oversight, could probably mend their practices and stay open and in business"
The focus should be, how can the KID adjust and learn, how can the KID grow, how can the KID help themself and others when faced with unagreeable obstacles. And when i figured that out for myself, i learned that it was my own problem when i was not happy in an unagreeable situation. Very Zen like, and that was a major concept.
If you dont get that, then join the rest of america with the "i want others to fix it/do it for me" mentality that gets kids there in the first place.
