Rudy's new job

[Troll Control]

On 2005-09-23 11:34:00, Anonymous wrote:

"My daughter was attending there, I live in Massachusetts and have dropped in unannounced and attended the groups for parents and parents/children.  When we went to check out the place we drove up unannounced and ate dinner with the kids and attended a group meeting with the whole school (stood in the back).  The doors are usually open."

Oh, I see.  That explains a lot.

One, you never saw a group.  You saw only what was intended for parents to see, which is usually quite antiseptic.

Two, you were a visitor, not an observer (as in a professional from a state agency or the like).  The kids know what to say and what not to say.  Should they complain about the program, they are severely punished.

It makes sense to me in light of what you described.  You just haven't seen how these places work, and you will never be allowed to see either.  Of course you never saw an abusive rap, because you've never seen a rap at all.

Please post again when you have some actual knowledge of the program, not what is spoon fed to you.

[TheWho]

I am sorry you feel that way, but I didnt hear you say that you had first hand knowledge of ASR, I participated in the program for 16 months.  I have been there and know kids who have graduated.  Not to be condescending but you should slow down a bit and read the entire post.

[Anonymous]

They would never allow a visitor to view a rap. It took great lengths for even an observer to be able to see one. And as for Swift River vs. CEDU schools? There is no comparison. I am from Massachusetts as well, and I was a student at a CEDU school. So I know firsthand what CEDU was like, but also have a few friends from back home that were sent to Swift River. They told me all about how when you first get there, you don't even start at the school. You go on some cushy 3 month wilderness trip. Then, the school itself is not nearly on the same level as a CEDU school.

If the intensity at schools like BCA, RMA, CEDU High, etc. were a 10, Swift River was a 3. And what you saw diluted it even more.

[Anonymous]

We were posting at the same time, but maybe you should go back and read what you wrote, because it looks like more than one person thought you were merely a visitor.

[TheWho]

Yea your right -- my first post appeared to indicate I was only a visitor, so I can see how it could be taken that I was someone with no knowledge of ASR.  Hope my follow-up posts clear that up.

[Troll Control]

On 2005-09-23 12:52:00, Anonymous wrote:

"I am sorry you feel that way, but I didnt hear you say that you had first hand knowledge of ASR, I participated in the program for 16 months.  I have been there and know kids who have graduated.  Not to be condescending but you should slow down a bit and read the entire post."

I think maybe you should take your own advice.  I QUOTED a post that clearly said the poster was the PARENT of a student and that he/she VISITED the facility.  

Maybe you missed the big white box with the quotation in it (like the one above where I quoted your post).  If you did, I'd suggest an eye exam and maybe some reading glasses.

[TheWho]

Yes you are right, my mistake, it appears to say I was only a visitor.  I initially visited unannounced, prior to my daughter being enrolled.  The following couple of years I got to know the school pretty well.
Hope that helps

[Anonymous]

I would like to hear first hand accounts from students who have been at Swift River within the past 6 months or parents of recent graduates. SInce Rudy is gone, they are trying to clean up their acts. I have a daughter there now.

I visited several schools before choosing asr and one seemed like a cult, even to parents. None of them are what they seem but is ASR such a bad place?

[Anonymous]

I just don't buy it when parents say they got to know the school well. You could've visited every weekend and been told countless volumes of stories by your daughter. You could've read all the books, seen all the videos, read all the online forums, networked with all the parents, chatted endlessly with the faculty...and yes, then you would know more about the school than the average person. But to think that you could even have the slightest glimpse into the mind of a student who attended one of those schools, well you're just kidding yourself. To walk on those campuses day in and day out, to sit in those raps and those workshops, to see and experience the things that we saw and experienced, to go to sleep every night in that place...no one could ever comprehend what that was like. No friend or family member of mine has ever been able to grasp in the slightest bit just what it was like to be a student there. Not even staff could tell you what it was like to live in our minds. No one will ever understand it except the kid's who were forced to endure it.

[Anonymous]

On 2005-09-23 09:42:00, Anonymous wrote:

  The kids called ASR "The Bubble" bacuase they felt very safe there.  Maybe I saw a different side of him or maybe he changed, but all the kids seemed to be able to approach him."

wow, that's healthy! what excellent preparation for the real world! that's just what every kid needs during their formative years. a bubble to deceive them of how harsh reality is.

[Anonymous]

I am not claiming to know it at all (except to compare it to what little I have seen). What little I do know, is that is was the best of place that I did see. My daughter would not be happy anywhere, except at home. But she would be in jail if she were here, and surely this place has to be better than juvenile detention or inpatient drug rehab?

[Anonymous]

On 2005-09-23 14:55:00, Anonymous wrote:

"I would like to hear first hand accounts from students who have been at Swift River within the past 6 months or parents of recent graduates. SInce Rudy is gone, they are trying to clean up their acts. I have a daughter there now.



I visited several schools before choosing asr and one seemed like a cult, even to parents. None of them are what they seem but is ASR such a bad place?"

You won't find much help here since it really has nothing to do with CEDU.

[Anonymous]

ASR is not really a bad place at all. It's a gem of an alternative compared to the CEDU schools. With any Emotional Growth boarding school, you're just going to have to take the good with the bad. Obviously your daughter isn't doing well at home, and I don't blame you at all for wanting to do anything in your power to avoid juvenile detention or a drug rehab center.

But the downside is, there's a deep flaw in the whole emotional growth boarding school idea. You're stuck between a rock and a hard place. ASR will keep your daughter out of harm's way and definitely out of jail...for the time being. One of the previous posters said it best. Those places just don't reflect reality. And there are staff, like this Rudy Bentz guy in his CEDU days, and like the Gunn's and Yarborough's and Rookey's, that think they are God's gift to troubled teens. They'll try to re-program the minds of innocent kids like your daughter, regardless of whether they think they're doing the right thing or not.

You just have to be careful. You may have simply found a temporary solution, because I have found in myriad situations that a lot of kids really do come out of those schools with the original destructive tendencies gone (or perhaps merely subsided), but a whole mess of new confusion, anger, frustration, and whatever else comes as a result, embedded in their minds.

If you sift through the name-calling, slander, and hatred in these forums, you can find abundance of raw, disturbing truth.

[Troll Control]

On 2005-09-23 15:08:00, Anonymous wrote:

"I am not claiming to know it at all (except to compare it to what little I have seen). What little I do know, is that is was the best of place that I did see. My daughter would not be happy anywhere, except at home. But she would be in jail if she were here, and surely this place has to be better than juvenile detention or inpatient drug rehab?"

deadinsaneorinjail.  i've heard that before....

[TheWho]

On 2005-09-23 14:59:00, Anonymous wrote:

"I just don't buy it when parents say they got to know the school well. You could've visited every weekend and been told countless volumes of stories by your daughter. You could've read all the books, seen all the videos, read all the online forums, networked with all the parents, chatted endlessly with the faculty...and yes, then you would know more about the school than the average person. But to think that you could even have the slightest glimpse into the mind of a student who attended one of those schools, well you're just kidding yourself. To walk on those campuses day in and day out, to sit in those raps and those workshops, to see and experience the things that we saw and experienced, to go to sleep every night in that place...no one could ever comprehend what that was like. No friend or family member of mine has ever been able to grasp in the slightest bit just what it was like to be a student there. Not even staff could tell you what it was like to live in our minds. No one will ever understand it except the kid's who were forced to endure it.
I dont think anyone here thinks they can understand what goes on in anyone elses mind.  The best thing we can do is ask questions, keep an open mind and pass along our experiences.  Some of us have partaken in the programs, others know people who have and still others have merely only heard a few words about it.  But all input negative or positive is useful in some perspectives.  I think everyone should be able to respond and post their experiences.