http://www.sentinelandenterprise.com/local/ci_2923498Local teens against ABC's 'Brat Camp'
By Meghan Bard
[email protected] Millions of viewers tune in to ABC every Wednesday night to watch "Brat Camp," a show featuring nine teens with various behavioral problems who are duped by their parents into spending time in the Oregon wilderness.
The kids are brought to Sagewalk, which is described as an "intense intervention program for troubled teens," where they will take long hikes with 40-pound packs strapped to their backs, as well as participate in group therapy with their instructors.
They're told it will be a short stay, but in fact the teens are left at Sagewalk for 50 grueling days.
Most local teens interviewed Friday slammed the show's deceptive tactics.
"I would be angry," said Ashley Leblanc, 15, of Gardner. "I would want (my parents) to talk to me about whatever the problem was before sending me off to this place."
17-year-olds Ashley Chambers, of Ashby, and Kristen Ciccolini, of Leominster, who were shopping together at the Mall at Whitney Field on Friday, had similar reactions.
"I'd revolt," Chambers said.
Ciccolini nodded her agreement.
"I'd be pissed," she said.
Fear was the reaction of sisters Rebecca, 14, and Alesha Wockenfuss, 17, of Leominster.
"I think I'd be scared," Alesha Wockenfuss said.
Her younger sister said that the experience would have an impact on her behavior.
"I'd hate it," Rebecca Wockenfuss said. "I'd probably cry until they sent me back to my mom, and then I'd never do anything bad again."
Dr. Steven Michaelson, a psychiatrist who has been practicing in Harvard for 25 years, co-directed a Boston program that sent inner-city kids to New Hampshire's Southern Presidential Mountains.
His experiences led him to believe that programs like the one depicted on "Brat Camp" can have a positive impact on teens.
"Taking kids out of their element and exposing them to different environments where they have to rely on others does create a positive experience," Michaelson said. "They realize you need your inner strength, and you need your problem solving, and you need team work."
But unlike "Brat Camp," teens are not deceived in the programs Michaelson recommends.
"These kids were tricked," Michaelson said. "That's probably not the best way to negotiate with an adolescent."
Michaelson said kids are likely to become angry about being put into a program like this without full knowledge of what it entails.
"They're fighting the betrayal and the lie," he said. "You set yourself up for a possibility of more problem behavior."
Also, while an experience such as that provided by "Brat Camp" may improve some teens' behavior, Michaelson said cameras shouldn't be there to capture it.
"It's such a personal experience," he said. "To be tricked and then to be taped is really demeaning to these kids. You're saying, 'You have no voice, and we're going to exploit you.'"
Some local teens wondered what happens after the cameras stop rolling and the kids go home.
"What do you do after the TV show? Walk around saying, 'Hey, I'm the girl from 'Brat Camp'?" asked Mihkaela Perez, 17, of Lunenburg.
"I could understand bringing your kid someplace if they're totally out of control," she continued. "You're putting your kid on national TV and saying they're a brat, and you can't control them. What does that say about a parent?"
Some wondered if being on television could make teens behave even worse.
"They could get famous and recognized for being bad," Katie Moses, 16, of Leominster said.
Her friend Ashley Spellmeyer, 17, of Leominster agreed.
"It's like positive reinforcement," she said. "It could be egging them on."
But Alesha Wockenfuss said she enjoys the show and sees its value.
"I think it's good," she said. "It probably teaches kids a lesson. They can learn a lesson from their mistakes."
