Fornits
Treatment Abuse, Behavior Modification, Thought Reform => The Troubled Teen Industry => Topic started by: confused on March 28, 2004, 06:45:00 PM
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I'm a mother with a 17 yr son (18 in August). He will be "graduating" from Wilderness in Utah in 2 weeks. We still don't have a school for him to go to! His therapist says he has improved so much and he thinks to continue improving that he needs to be in 12mo. emot.growth school. I have a school consultant. We were steered to NWA because it fit his niche agewise and needing to graduate in 2005, etc. Only after talking to them for half hour did we finally get it that he wasn't leaving their sides until he was done. We can only visit on campus, every 3mos or so and if he's good eventually he could leave campus with us. She said kids don't want to leave even when 18 because they are so happy there. Really worries me a lot. Then we were told about Summit Preparatory School in Montana. Apparently family can visit more often and more flexible. Does anybody have any experience with this school?
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On 2004-03-28 15:45:00, confused wrote:
"I'm a mother with a 17 yr son (18 in August). He will be "graduating" from Wilderness in Utah in 2 weeks. We still don't have a school for him to go to! His therapist says he has improved so much and he thinks to continue improving that he needs to be in 12mo. emot.growth school. I have a school consultant. We were steered to NWA because it fit his niche agewise and needing to graduate in 2005, etc. Only after talking to them for half hour did we finally get it that he wasn't leaving their sides until he was done. We can only visit on campus, every 3mos or so and if he's good eventually he could leave campus with us. She said kids don't want to leave even when 18 because they are so happy there. Really worries me a lot. Then we were told about Summit Preparatory School in Montana. Apparently family can visit more often and more flexible. Does anybody have any experience with this school?"
If he's doing so much better, have you considered trying him back at home with a good family therapist on an outpatient basis?
Or does he *want* to go?
You really should ask, since he'll be 18 in August. This close to majority, if he doesn't want to go and you send him, you could lose him.
If he doesn't want to go and you don't want him home, have you considered whether he could live with friends or other family members?
Teens have natural conflicts with their parents, some of which there's good reason to believe are biologically hardwired. He may function better living with friends or family.
If he doesn't want to go and wants to pursue the option of early emancipation as a minor, you might consider letting him get a job in something like construction where he can make good summer money starting off with youthful vigor and not much initial skill---you may be able to help him find an apartment or room for rent that's in a major city, with construction work, on a busline.
You could help with therapy expenses or tuition and books for higher ed---get him started on independence with some limited assistance to ease him out onto his own.
Work in the real world has tremendous powers towards maturing a young adult, beyond those of any program.
I'm not saying don't send him to a boarding school he wants to go to. I'm saying if he doesn't want to go, if you want to keep your relationship with him, you really need to explore other options with him.
Five months from now, he's not just going to forget all about it if you make a decision for him, now, that isn't the one he as an adult would have made for himself.
Adults remember how they were treated as kids. Most of the time, the things a teenager was upset about you deciding for them, they *don't* "thank you for it later."
When I've seen parents make major life choices for their teens the teen didn't agree with (beyond not giving the teen as much money or stuff as he/she wanted), at least 90% of the time the former teen as an adult has disagreed with that decision for life and it has had major permanent negative effects on the relationship between the parent and the grown child.
"You'll thank me for this later," in the absolute best better judgement of the parent, works for dealing with two year olds----it is almost *never* true of dealings with a teen.
"You'll still hate me for this forty years from now, although you may still maintain at least a guarded relationship with me" is usually far, far more accurate.
At seventeen and a half, if he'd rather move out than go to boarding school, you will regret it for the rest of your life, bitterly, if you don't let him.
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Get on the internet and find several different schools for yourself. Ask your "school consultant" indepth questions about how many times they've been to the school they recommend and how long have they stayed during the visit. Have they talked with the kids without staff being present?
I'm not going to question the purpose in sending him to an RTC after wilderness, because I know it takes a lot longer than the quickie WP to have internalized results.
If you feel visiting your son at will is good for your son, and only you know that, then I would go for the less restrictive school. If you feel that he will use those visits to talk you into bringing him home, or will "look good" while you visit, that could be a problem. It's for you to decide.
I have no experience of either school. Mostly what you'll get on this board is what the above person wrote or worse.
Do what your gut is telling you.
If you've not looked into Spring Creek Lodge or Cross Creek (WWASPS program) they have 18 y.o. programs. Nobody will tell you they WANT to stay there after they're 18 because they're happy. They'll more than likely tell you they know they need to learn to make better choices, get their hs diploma or go to college while there...and they're right where they need to be.
P.S. School/Educational Consultants don't refer to WWASPS as they don't get a fee for the referral. They won't admit it, though! Just an FYI.
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The response of grown children to parents who have done things to them as teens that they (as teens) didn't want done is just a basic fact of life.
You want to hide that from the parent?
Everybody I know whose parents were weird enough to pull that kind of garbage on them---things like sending them off to some lockdown place against their will----basically chooses to have only very limited contact with their parents as adults, and to make sure that they are pretty much fully in control of whatever contact there is.
Everybody I know who was a wild child in high school who grew up and grew out of it without that kind of undesired intervention by their parents ended up basically productive and functional as an adult. The exception was one guy who got accused of father a kid as a young teen, very possibly didn't do it, but either way just never got out from under the child support police.
Very, very few ended up "deadorinjail"---although a number of them did ditch their parents' religion, more or less. Some more, some less.
If your kid wants to go, great.
If not, is five months worth jeopardizing your relationship with your son for life? Really?
You'll have to decide that, but your choice won't be consequence-free. Your son will judge you for it, and if you don't ask and respect his opinion, he's very, very unlikely to ever thank you for it.
Just the facts.
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You didn't mention too much about what sort of behavior precipitated his stay at the Wilderness Program. Does he have a clinical diagnosis? Is he on medication? Is he physically aggressive? How motivated is he to perform academically in that kind of environment?
This sort of information would help a lot in determining what sort of school would be a good match, if any.
Also, if it's in Montana and it takes referrals from Wilderness Programs it's an RTC. Boarding Schools are stone edifices in New England with lacrosse teams and multi-million dollar endowments. Calling it Summit Preparatory School is kind of like mislabeling dog food as "cake".
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Sounds good.
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Jesus loves you and so do I. You will have many of us praying for your deliverance. The demon tormentors that haunt you will be destroyed. You will soon be experiencing the love of God as He pours it out on you. Jesus is your savior, and He has set you free man. He defeated satan and his liars. May God bless every part of you, and your family. I pray that God will set your friends free from the evil that taunts them. You will have your freedom soon.
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On 2004-03-29 19:56:00, Word of Wisdom wrote:
"Jesus loves you and so do I. You will have many of us praying for your deliverance. The demon tormentors that haunt you will be destroyed. You will soon be experiencing the love of God as He pours it out on you. Jesus is your savior, and He has set you free man. He defeated satan and his liars. May God bless every part of you, and your family. I pray that God will set your friends free from the evil that taunts them. You will have your freedom soon."
zzzzz, yawn, puke, vomit.
zzzz
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I work at Summit Preparatory School in Montana, it is NOT an RTC, check it out on the web, at:
http://www.summitprepschool.org (http://www.summitprepschool.org)
There is contact information there if you want to talk to somebody.
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I don't know if I've ever heard anything about Summit before. I note that it's a very new business. I was just looking over your website. One major difference that I see between Summit and a lot of the programs we talk about around here is that you're not hiding the location of the campus.
http://www.summitprepschool.org/File_Ga ... Us/map.pdf (http://www.summitprepschool.org/File_Gallery/ContactUs/map.pdf)
I didn't see any mention of out of country or out of area campuses. Is this the only place where your students are housed?
When you say it's not an RTC, what do you mean? Forgive me if I'm a bit skeptical, but your ap asks if the parent were refered by an edcon. Is this a lock down facility? Do you accept students brought involuntarily by "escort"? Being a street cop, witnessing the tragedy firsthand, I've become
convinced that drug prohibition -- not drugs themselves -- are driving the HIV epidemic and the systemic crime that has swamped our criminal justice systems.
--Vancouver Police Const. Gil Puder
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We are a relatively new program, we received our first students in March of 2003, and the campus near Kalispell is the only campus.
RTC stands for Residential Treatment Center, which usually means it is highly structured and more of what you refer to as a "lock-down" type of facility.
Summit Prep School is not "locked", we are a college preparatory school, and a therapeutic program, sometimes refered to as "Emotional Growth" school.
Typically, an escort service is helpful to take a reluctent student to whatever Wilderness program they attend, then when the student completes their program at wilderness, the parents, or a representative of the wilderness program brings the student to our facility.
An "educational consultant" is someone who knows about various programs, wilderness,prep schools, a number of different programs so they can recommend what might be the best fit for your particular situation.
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Oh great, another emotional growth school that accepts kids who have been through a wilderness program first to shock 'em into compliance with long term residential placement in a "structured" environment? How marvelous!
::puke::
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I am an ex-CEDU employee. I would like to advise "confused" to avoid all CEDU schools (aka NWA) at all cost. It is a sick place!
I worked with a therapist that had escaped CEDU and is now working at Summit and loves it there. I would trust this person with my life. We had talked for hours about want a healthy program would look like and what would make it great. So I would tend to believe that Summit is a solid healthy program.
Good luck in your search and research every program indept.
Lost DogWhen the government's boot is on your throat, whether it is a left boot or a right boot is of no consequence.
-- Gary Lloyd
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Ok, let's talk turkey.
First, if you're going to hawk your program here, has it occured to you that some (sane) parents might be a little retisent to entrust their kids to someone who won't give their name? If you really want any credibility around here, I think you're going to have to give your real name.
Who are you?
Second, judging by the website, Summit looks like a resort spa. Hell, if my mom had shown me that website and told me I could go, I'd have been packed before she could say "well, wadaya say?"
Why would any kid be reluctant to become a student at Summit?
India Indicas, Mr. Peabody?
-- Sherman
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Antigen,
I did not leave my name for the same reasons no one else does, trying to move on with life, law suits and CEDU is scary!!!
You are ex CEDU as well, so I am suprised that you would even ask me that question.
I am currently a drug counselor for a public school district in washington. I had to leave my home in sandpoint because I could not get work around there after CEDU. (Many of the jobs I have applied to looked down on me because I had worked for CEDU).
I am finally getting my life put back together and moving on. Yet, A part of me is still trying to make sense of it all. I thought, along with many of the therapist (that have now left), that we could make a difference and change the system into a healthy supportive enviroment. I was wrong and it cost me dearly.
The therapist at Summit is someone I trust because we fought the good fight against the abuse and the shame that many of the staff placed on the students. (I am withhold this persons name out of respect to their privatecy).
So why trust me about Summit school? Don't! Do the research for yourself. Be critical, ask the hard questions and trust yourself! Take only what I say as one opinion. Consider my advice, but still make your own decisions about Summit or any other program
I am currently trying to discover what programs out there work and are healthy. As a drug counselor I see tons of students that need help, but the public system tends to suffle them off instead of helping them (mainly do to lack of funding and programs). As we know the private system is filled with crouption and abuse. So my question to Antigen, as someone who is familiar with the industry, In your opinion what programs do you know about are healthy and productive in helping kids?
*If you still want to know who I am, send me a private message and I will gladly share more.
-Lost DogBoundary, n. In political geography, an imaginary line between two nations, separating the imaginary rights of one from the imaginary rights of another.
-- Ambrose Bierce, The Devil's Dictionary
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On 2004-04-29 12:29:00, Lost Dog wrote:
"Antigen,
I did not leave my name for the same reasons no one else does, trying to move on with life, law suits and CEDU is scary!!!
Fair enough, but the other guy seems to be trying to promote this other program. I find it odd that anyone would make an anonymous appeal to anyone to send them our children.
You are ex CEDU as well, so I am suprised that you would even ask me that question.
No, I was in another Synanon based program. But it's all the same. As it happens, I am under civil suit.
The therapist at Summit is someone I trust because we fought the good fight against the abuse and the shame that many of the staff placed on the students. (I am withhold this persons name out of respect to their privatecy).
I wouldn't dream of asking you to out someone else against their wishes.
I am currently trying to discover what programs out there work and are healthy. As a drug counselor I see tons of students that need help, but the public system tends to suffle them off instead of helping them (mainly do to lack of funding and programs). As we know the private system is filled with crouption and abuse. So my question to Antigen, as someone who is familiar with the industry, In your opinion what programs do you know about are healthy and productive in helping kids?
-Lost Dog
And (copied from earlier in the post)
The therapist at Summit is someone I trust because we fought the good fight against the abuse and the shame that many of the staff placed on the students. (I am withhold this persons name out of respect to their privatecy).
and
I thought, along with many of the therapist (that have now left), that we could make a difference and change the system into a healthy supportive enviroment. I was wrong and it cost me dearly.
Well, you know what they say about good intentions. I sincerely assume good intentions from anyone and everyone unless I find evidence that demands another conclusion. It's been my experience that most people, regardless of how others might view their behavior, actually do believe that they're the good guys doing worthy and good things for good reasons.
But that doesn't mean they actually accomplish good and worthy things. Hence the aphorism "The road to hell is paved w/ good intentions."
I don't believe there is such a thing as good, effective and safe drug treatment. The reason why I don't believe it is because I have seen no evidence ever that shows any significant benefit to treated populations over untreated populations. Substance abuse is volitional. Like all other activities that can sometimes be more trouble than they're worth, most people manage to either quit or moderate problematic drug use, w/ or w/o any professional help. Actually, there is evidence to suggest that those of us who received "help" against our will have not done as well as those who were not so "lucky".
So I think it's patently wrong to force drug treatment or other psych treatment on anyone against their will.
That's why I wanted to know from the Summit employee whether or not they take involuntary placements. He/she says that they do. Now I want to know why any kid wouldn't want to go to Summit. Based on what they say about themselves in their website, I don't see why anyone would have to be shackled and dragged out of bed to go there. Is there some reason not stated in the website why a kid might resist going?
Finally, just because I don't have any faith in formal treatment doesn't mean it should be outlawed. People do all kinds of things that I don't understand or find to be worthwhile. But it must be voluntary! Outward Bound, I hear, is a wonderful program. Kids go and do it voluntarily, but they go into it knowing the risk of injury and fully informed of every aspect of the program.
What often happens in programs that identify as part of the Troubled Parent industry is that they get the kid out there, either by force or fraud, and then start harassing them emotionally while they've got them captive.
This, I believe, is ethically indefensible. And I want to know if that's what's going on at Summit.
To put it in the simplest and, hopefully, familiar terms, any therapeutic relationship (professional or not) must be based on trust. Coercion destroys trust. If there's coercion involved, it can't be therapeutic.
Under the benign influence of our republican institutions, and the maintenance of peace with all nations whilst so many of them were engaged in bloody and wasteful wars, the fruits of a just policy were enjoyed in an unrivaled growth of our faculties and resources.
James Madison
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Bump!
Any response?The most important bill in our whole code is that for the diffusion of
knowledge among the people. No other sure foundation can be devised, for the preservation of freedom and happiness.
--Thomas Jefferson
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I agree that you can never force treatment of any sort, whether treating drug or exstream ice cream addiction.
I do believe that you can offer a person options... "Adult have options, childern have one (to cry, kick and scream)" Now they may not like their options (that can get into dealing with the ego) but exploring healthy options can led to a way out of what ever "trauma" a person has entered.
I have faith in summit school because I have faith in this counselor. He/She helped tons of students (and even helped me after I got out of CEDU).
I really hope that there are more healthy schools out there for the kids that need something else. You may have known students that truly needed to get away from their parents and reestablish their value systems. I had one student this year that needed a residential program (home life was really bad!!!!!), but I could not in good faith just send her anywhere. The state system is not much better (no funding). I looked around for programs but I did not come across a lot I trusted or would take her (medicaid). In the end I gave her the choice and she refused. So I left her with options, for when she hits bottom. That was the best I could do.
I did find one place in Wrangell, Alaska that I checked out and liked. It is a wilderness program call "Crossings". The owner seemed to have it together, therapists were highly skilled and best of all they worked with medicaid! Again this is only another opinion...
I do believe in programs like outward bound. Most of them are great and kids choose to go there!! They teach life skills, build self esteam, corperation and led kids to find hope within. This reminds me of something I read somewhere?!?! (brain no work good on friday) About some parents that as their daughter approched her 13th birthday, they set up challenges for her that would teach her how to survive her teenage years. Th whole family got involved teaching her everything from skydiving to cooking to changing the car oil. Each task built self esteam, established support systems with family members, taught her decision making and most important told her she is loved. I thought is is great and what so many students I have seen need or something like this to show them they are loved!! Unfortunitly most family systems are about as healthy as eating McD on a daily basis...
I have switched gears in my profession, instead of treatment I am working in prevention. This was a radical change for me. I had to let go of everything I knew and relearn how to help. I have found that even my job title "Drug and Alcohol Prevention Counselor" is BS. I spend more time teaching responsible decision making and educate students on the pontential dangers of durgs, drinking, ice cream, etc. But as you know we best learn after we fall, I can only hope that throught healthy mentoring, I am providing these students with the tools they need to learn from their mistakes.
I do see a direct link between many social problems and lack of public education funding. I have a wonderful opportunity to work with schools throughtout washington and see the same problems in every school. I would love to say that all parents are great people that love their kids, but that would be a big fat lie! So as the job of raising kids should fall on the parental system it unfortunately shifts into the school's shoulders. Take drug prevention: Ideally if you educate students and provide healthy role models most will avoid drug addiction, thus reducing the demand for drugs in our country. Look at the change in teen smoking for emample. There is currently tons of money in smoking education, which has dropped the smoking rates way down. Here is the catch, there is no (or very little) money in drug education!!! Just like there is not money for after school programs, art, dance, drama, alteritive sports, outdoor education, etc. The best anti-drug (or way to steem bad choices) is to "Follow Your Bliss". Give studets other outlets insteam of TV, video games, drugs, sex, etc. Sure some of them will experiment, but the anti-drug will win everytime.
So for many kids homelife sucks, there is nothing to do after school, working at the mall puts teens in direct contact with more drugs, gilfriend is pregnat, TV is only trying to sell you something and most of the good mentors are burned out or dead. And best of all the same politision that cut school funding is preaching about bad teachers, drugs, MTV, janets boob...
Does this feel kind of like a hampster wheel?
So it is friday and I am ranting... Yes, I spend the rest of my little time looking for grants. Unfortuneatly I can find thousands for the Oprea but nothing for our half built skatepark (our idea of an anti-drug location safely behind the police station).
I will be less narotic tomorrow after I go play outside...
-Lost Dog
Clancy's Law: The perceived role of governments is to deploy ever increasing resources to the attainment of ever diminishing end results.
--Home Page (http://ozinfo.com/)
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On 2004-04-30 21:25:00, Lost Dog wrote:
I would love to say that all parents are great people that love their kids, but that would be a big fat lie! So as the job of raising kids should fall on the parental system it unfortunately shifts into the school's shoulders.
That's a default situation that exists because compulsory public schooling exists. W/o that contrived institution, children who's parents suck generally gravitate to other adults of their own choosing who give them what they need.
http://www.gregbrown.org/gbfurth1.html#ifyoudon (http://www.gregbrown.org/gbfurth1.html#ifyoudon)
As it turns out, the schools make even worse parents than absent parents do. If the parents model poor behavior as regards drugs, the schools don't setp in and teach good behavior. They send in a DARE cop and encourage the kids to move from an ambivalent attitude toward their natural kin (and strongest tie to their whole heritage) to actively combative and to snitch on them.
"First, do no harm" is a good rule of thumb for all vocations.
Take drug prevention: Ideally if you educate students and provide healthy role models most will avoid drug addiction, thus reducing the demand for drugs in our country. Look at the change in teen smoking for emample. There is currently tons of money in smoking education, which has dropped the smoking rates way down. Here is the catch, there is no (or very little) money in drug education!!!
No, it works the other way around. I'm sure of it. When I was a little kid, our culture designated smoking as an adult activity. Almost all adults smoked. Housewives smoked in the grocery store, there were even ashtrays in the stores. Restaurants, if they had a non smoking section at all, had two tables next to the kitchen doors. As is always the case, changes in culture lead changes in spending allocation. So now we have all this anti-smoking propaganda (and I don't mean that in a bad way) and it seems to work because it's supported by the rest of society.
If you really want to make a difference in the lives of children, don't cloister yourself in the "helping" professions. Instead, throw yourself into some mundane but necessary aspect of living and be a mentor to whoever is drawn to you.
I had a lousey, neglectful homelife as a kid. My dad was very cool, but he was working a couple of jobs. Mom was either bitching, smoking and drinking or she was ignoring us. So I'd hang around when Dad was working on some project, otherwise I was "out playing", hovering around someone else who could show me how to grow a garden, build an addition on their house or some other useful thing. I was fine w/ it! No problem at all, till some jackass convinced my mother that she could receive redemption and become a "Good Mother" by forcing us to let him help us all.
Here is the catch, there is no (or very little) money in drug education!!!
That's the catch w/ all of the "helping" professions! There is no ecconomic profit in trying to help people who are so dysfunctional that they can't pay you for the help. That's why Socrates went balistic over the suggestion that he would charge for teaching.
Fortunately, like the drive for sex, bliss and food, teaching and mentoring come as naturally to humans as to other social animals. Who do you know who's not flattered and warmed by some young person asking advice or showing admiration in some way? What kid have you ever met who doesn't hit the ground wired to emulate everything around them and to master every skill they can as fast as they can?
Ever read John Taylor Gatto? My kids gave me a copy of "Anonymity Anonymous (http://fornits.com/anonanon)
It is wrong to leave a stumbling block in the road once it has tripped you.
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I love greg brown, great song...thanks!!
I did not mean to ranble as much about as I did, but yesterday sucked. so to clearify some what...
You are right schools make bad parents, but teachers and counselors can make great role models. I can not speak for every school in the country but here I am surprised at how skilled the teachers are and how positivitly they affect their sudents lives. I have even seen teachers go as far as to help get students off the streets and back in school when the parents could have cared less.
As for Dare it is defunct. It had some good aspects to the program such as having a police officer assigned to work with each school district. This helped build relationships and dispell the student's myths that cops are all bad. My school district is at a great lost without our police contact, he helped a ton of kids. Now don't misunderstand me, the program as a whole had some flaws that allowed for abuses of power.
About drug prevention:
Antigen wrote "No, it works the other way around. I'm sure of it. When I was a little kid, our culture designated smoking as an adult activity. Almost all adults smoked. Housewives smoked in the grocery store, there were even ashtrays in the stores. Restaurants, if they had a non smoking section at all, had two tables next to the kitchen doors. As is always the case, changes in culture lead changes in spending allocation. So now we have all this anti-smoking propaganda (and I don't mean that in a bad way) and it seems to work because it's supported by the rest of society." (how do you quote so it shows up in the box)
I do not mean to be disrespectful, but I am confused, Are you saying that drug rates go up when you provide drug prevention?? It is proven that drug and tobacco education do help reduce the addiction rates. When there is no education programs or support system (counselors), addiction goes up. In fact your example seems agree with my point, that the current culture has created funding for smoking prevention that has lowered the rates of underage smokers. In the 80's it was the anti-drug (remember Nancy Regan)messages that recieved the funding. Now it was a pretty lame message but it did work as drugs use like crack droped signifiantly after drug education in schools recieved funding.
I never knew that about Socrates, that is great! You are right, our society seems to look for the short term profit, where they should instead be looking at the long term value.
I am familiar with Gatto and feel that the solution to the stagnate school system is funding. There are tons of grants we write each year to provide alternative and outdoor education, art, drama and many other program but all these things are shot down due to lack of money. Way too much time and money is spent on testing. The current administration's plan "to leave no child behind" in reality leaves most of them on the street corner as the bus speeds on by.
Education is clearly not a priority in this country. As it would cost only 1 billion to repair all the schools in the nation and bring them up to date, but instead we spend 87 billion on Iraq and can not afford to beter our own schools? Is something wrong here?
-lost dog
<[ This Message was edited by: Lost Dog on 2004-05-01 18:11 ][ This Message was edited by: Lost Dog on 2004-05-02 09:16 ]
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Antigen
Instead of continuing are rant about the ills of public and private schools... I would love to know what people out there feel works!! I am current in a grant writing phase and I am searching for current examples of successful school programs (low drop out rates, enhanced creativity, low drug abuses, etc).
Let talk about how we start solving the problems we face in education. What programs work?
-Lost Dog[ This Message was edited by: Lost Dog on 2004-05-02 09:26 ]
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I think the #1, most effective way to improve schools accross the board would be to make them voluntary and locally funded and controled.
I don't think you and I are going to agree on very much in this area.
Real criminals walk free every day to rape, rob, and murder again because the courts are so busy finding consensual criminals guilty of hurting no one but themselves.... To free cells for consensual criminals, real criminals are put on the street every day.
Peter McWilliams
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Why doesn't Jesus help these children who are being tortured in his name?
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Jesus can only help them through us! I think he is helping them everytime someone tries to do something to prevent this.
A great many people think they are thinking when they are merely rearranging their prejudices.
-- William James
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I believe knowledge and this information age could be useful to anyone wishing to get off the street. But I also belive it is up to the individual to make their choices. Nobody can make a drug addict quit. But If they only knew before-hand what they were getting into they would avoid it like the plague. Education is the answer but who are they going to believe when their parents or peers are all on this drug kick? How can you correct a problem that will only go on later on in life when this is no mentor of experience and firsthand knowledge of drug-addiction.Smarts are learned on one own experience, but how do you get these kids to listen to wisdom when there is none accessable to them. I'm talking about learning from other's mistakes. That's what th kids need instead of all this so called culture-shock and ge used to it crap. That comes later. I may be wong but if people had respect for our leaders and our leaders had more wisdom mentors the kids who are troubled would get sound advice and not some type of peer group that wastes away at the minds for almost half their lives. It makes them give up when nobody is true to them.