Any Good Memories - at all?

[G&T]

Hi guys, this is my first post... I have never attended CEDU or WWASPS EVER, so I don't know very much about them (other than what I have read here). My childhood friend Devin was at BCA for a short time.
I lost touch with Devin when my family moved to Utah. When we moved back to California 10 years later I tried to look Devin up - couldn't find anything - so I google his name, found out he died, and came across this site all in one minute.

So anyways I am really sad/pissed/emotional/ because of his death (he died in a motorcycle accident) and just want to know what the hell is really going on in these schools. When we were kids Devin NEVER showed any signs of being wild or abnormal... Why would he get sent to this place? His dad is a doctor and his family was/is very well-off.

Do you guys have any good memories of this place?
And any additional info would be great.

Thanks
Brad

[mad]

Hey Brad,

Sorry about the loss of your friend and sorry that you had to find out over the Internet.

In 1993, during my last 9 months at Rocky Mountain Academy, BCA was created out of our farm and the farm outbuildings.  We were basically on the same campus but there were only a few (less than 10) students there when I graduated. The two schools did not interact so I have very little information on BCA.

As you have seen from the posts, most of the folks on this website seem to have had truly terrible experiences at the Cedu schools.  There are some of us though who seem to have had, overall, a positive experience.  I made some great friends there, being there got me away from my family, and the structure of the place likely saved my life.  I'm not sure what you mean by wild or abnormal -- but many of us who got sent there were struggling in school (I had dropped out), doing drugs, had a history of being in therapy or other placements, and came from families with $$.

If you have other questions, let me know.

Best, M

[If u want to know..then a]

There were kids that were sent there just because the family had money and someone had instructed them to send their child to CEDU if they didn't know what to do with them.  

I too feel for you and your loss!  It's true that time heals all wounds, but in finding this site, you might be opening one back up.  This site will probably give you more negative feedback than positive.  I did attend BCA and it wasn't too bad when I was there!  Granted, the staff had their manipulation tactics and I don't think that anyone liked to punish kids like some of the staff did, but it also saved my life and got me off the streets.  I owe that in part to my mother who struggled HARD to get me there!   I didn't know a Devin though!  Either he was before or after my time!  There are good memories and the majority of the good memories are about my friends.  I made my own scrapbook over the 3 years that I was there, and I constantly look through it!  I made probably the best of friends there that I will ever have.  And quite honestly, if it wasn't for the friends, I wouldn't have made it through!  It can be a frightening and lonely place for some kids.  

Like I said, I didn't know Devin but I am sure that he was a great friend and again I feel for your loss.  Having a cornicopia of feelings is too be expected and even cherished at this site (that is something I can say for it).  Please feel free to speak on whatever is on your mind.

[Anonymous]

I did not go to the same schools as MAD or If You Want to Know... I went to CEDU RS.  And at my school, especially with the education I now have, there is no way I could say that CEDU was anything other than unethical, abusive, and coersive in its therapeutic and academic capacities.  Also, the staff were either power trippin' cultists (some with shady histories who I would NOT want associating with my child)or impressionable newbies who were fucked up themselves and needed a niche to work out their own crap.

Who knows why Devin was sent to this school? During my time, parents often sent their children to CEDU because they were miseducated on the type of place it really was.  For example, some parents thought it was a school for non traditional learners.  (It wasn't. It was a group home.) Many parents overreacted when their children rebelled and sent them to CEDU.  Other parents were fed up with their out of control kids and either didn't want to or didn't know how to handle it themselves. Some kids had serious problems, such as depression, etc. that remained unaddressed by CEDU.

Whatever the case, CEDU's faults were not isolated, but SYSTEMIC.

Having said all that, of course there were also good times to be had.  Many people loved the wilderness trips, for example. There were special events that were interesting.  I liked all the outdoor stuff: wilderness, the ropes course, the olympics, even working outdoors with my peers...
Other people enjoyed the intense relationships you can't help but form at CEDU given the unique experiences you share together. Sundays were good days because the week is so structured and taxing that it was nice to be in a beautiful locale and do what you want to do.  I don't think I ever valued free time as much!

I don't know what Devin's BCA experiences were, but I'm deeply sorry for your loss.  Even people who complain about CEDU often say they had forged some great friendships and unique experiences. I will say that because you are pushed so hard, you do experience some of your highest highs at the school.

It sounds like you are trying to make sense of it all.  I wish you much luck. Have you written to his family?

[Anonymous]

Deeply sorry for your loss.

Sometimes I wonder how bad of an experience one has to have to not have one glimmer of a good memory. Even if it's in the form of a ray of hope that you are going to get out of there soon.

Myself, I liked the wilderness trips, even though I was a total puss and was always in back. I loved the scenery. My solo was great because I was away from my asshole peer group and the staff and I could be by myself. I'm indifferent to the relationships I forged.

[dniceo7]

Devin was a pretty mellow cat. He wasn't wild or destructive or any of that. But CEDU was just a diverse place like that. Devin basically said fuck school, couldn't get along with his rich parents, and smoked a ton of pot, which was always a good recipe for getting sent to BCA. But he was a good kid, and I definitely have some really good memories of kicking it with him. Like the time we helped build the deck behind the MLK dorm so that the Bonners Ferry kid who had been contracted to do it would bring us some weed and a bottle of bacardi. I'll never forget Devin...he was the man.