Author Topic: StrugglingTeens changes their tune  (Read 9648 times)

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Offline ZenAgent

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StrugglingTeens changes their tune
« on: February 14, 2008, 09:02:24 AM »
When I googled strugglingteens, this new catch phrase came up:

"Provides alternatives to military schools and boot camps for at-risk teens."

Lon, you're back-sliding, pal.  You used to have your advertising groups set-up to include boot camps and military-style programs prominently. God, what a bunch of feeble, mealy-mouthed...

That's how you rise to  the challenge, Lon?
« Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 07:00:00 PM by Guest »
\"Allah does not love the public utterance of hurtful speech, unless it be by one to whom injustice has been done; and Allah is Hearing, Knowing\" - The Qur\'an

_______________________________________________
A PV counselor\'s description of his job:

\"I\'m there to handle kids that are psychotic, suicidal, homicidal, or have commited felonies. Oh yeah, I am also there to take them down when they are rowdy so the nurse can give them the booty juice.\"

Offline TheWho

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Re: StrugglingTeens changes their tune
« Reply #1 on: February 14, 2008, 09:50:06 AM »
Quote from: "ZenAgent"
When I googled strugglingteens, this new catch phrase came up:

"Provides alternatives to military schools and boot camps for at-risk teens."

Lon, you're back-sliding, pal.  You used to have your advertising groups set-up to include boot camps and military-style programs prominently. God, what a bunch of feeble, mealy-mouthed...

That's how you rise to  the challenge, Lon?

Zen, if you look closely at the trends you will see that Boot Camps and Military style Schools are starting to fall from favor with many parents and industry professionals and are considered too harsh for most.  Parents are seeking more therapeutic alternatives to the “tough love” approaches.  The landscape is slowly changing… the old whip kids into shape is becoming a thing of the past.  Screaming at kids is not effective long term or short term and the industry is moving towards structure, guidance and therapy which has proven to be a more effective approach to helping children at-risk.  So I wouldn’t view this as “Back peddling” but see it more as “keeping in step”  with the changing industry.



...
« Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 07:00:00 PM by Guest »

Offline ZenAgent

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Re: StrugglingTeens changes their tune
« Reply #2 on: February 14, 2008, 10:31:44 AM »
God bless the ignore user feature.  I know people think this guy needs to be answered, but the sticky post at the top sends the message better than arguing with it.  If I want to read pro-program rhetoric, I'll go to strugglingteens, where Lon gets his points across more clearly (still erroneous and profit-driven) and it's a month before he slings the next batch.

Ignore the guy.
« Last Edit: February 14, 2008, 11:01:35 AM by ZenAgent »
\"Allah does not love the public utterance of hurtful speech, unless it be by one to whom injustice has been done; and Allah is Hearing, Knowing\" - The Qur\'an

_______________________________________________
A PV counselor\'s description of his job:

\"I\'m there to handle kids that are psychotic, suicidal, homicidal, or have commited felonies. Oh yeah, I am also there to take them down when they are rowdy so the nurse can give them the booty juice.\"

Offline psy

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Re: StrugglingTeens changes their tune
« Reply #3 on: February 14, 2008, 11:22:34 AM »
Quote from: "ZenAgent"
God bless the ignore user feature.

AMEN brother!
« Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 07:00:00 PM by Guest »
Benchmark Young Adult School - bad place [archive.org link]
Sue Scheff Truth - Blog on Sue Scheff
"Our services are free; we do not make a profit. Parents of troubled teens ourselves, PURE strives to create a safe haven of truth and reality." - Sue Scheff - August 13th, 2007 (fukkin surreal)

Offline stoodoodog

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Re: StrugglingTeens changes their tune
« Reply #4 on: February 14, 2008, 11:32:56 AM »
I recall referring to PV as a "boot camp" only to be corrected by an irate pro PV parent.
"PV is NOT a boot camp!!!! Nuff said" (direct quote)
Same parent referred to PV as a "therapeutic boarding school :ftard:", but I still can't ascertain exactly WHAT PV is.
I've seen many former PV patients call it a H*LL HOLE and that is what is was for me and my child (and countless relatives who were not allowed any contact with her).
Will hell hole be considered an alternative to boot camps and military academy's?
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Offline Ganja

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Re: StrugglingTeens changes their tune
« Reply #5 on: February 14, 2008, 11:46:43 AM »
It was close to a year ago when I happened to notice a veritable shitstorm of posts on the thread entitled "The Who." Pages and pages of people arguing with this Who guy, and it was going nowhere.

"What a waste of time," I thought to myself...so I jumped in, suggesting that people stop wasting their breath on him only to hear, "But...this," "But..that."

I posted to TheWho suggesting that he stop posting so much and that he go listen to the Live at Leeds Deluxe Edition and get back to us. Subsequently I recommended he listen to Animals by Pink Floyd, hoping that would strike a chord with him somehow.

Of course neither my suggestions that people stop the useless back and forth with him nor my musical prescriptions to TheWho seemed to help at all. It wasn't long after that I suggested a sticky thread that would 'explain' TheWho to the newer people who might come along. That way, the diligent breath-wasters could finally rest, hopefully...

It's good to see that this has been put into effect with some resolution, thanks to my idea...

Thank you, that is all. :D
« Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 07:00:00 PM by Guest »

Offline TheWho

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Re: StrugglingTeens changes their tune
« Reply #6 on: February 14, 2008, 01:10:29 PM »
Quote from: "Ganja"
It was close to a year ago when I happened to notice a veritable shitstorm of posts on the thread entitled "The Who." Pages and pages of people arguing with this Who guy, and it was going nowhere.

"What a waste of time," I thought to myself...so I jumped in, suggesting that people stop wasting their breath on him only to hear, "But...this," "But..that."

I posted to TheWho suggesting that he stop posting so much and that he go listen to the Live at Leeds Deluxe Edition and get back to us. Subsequently I recommended he listen to Animals by Pink Floyd, hoping that would strike a chord with him somehow.

Of course neither my suggestions that people stop the useless back and forth with him nor my musical prescriptions to TheWho seemed to help at all. It wasn't long after that I suggested a sticky thread that would 'explain' TheWho to the newer people who might come along. That way, the diligent breath-wasters could finally rest, hopefully...

It's good to see that this has been put into effect with some resolution, thanks to my idea...

Thank you, that is all. :D

Hey, Ganja, how ya been?  I remember I actually took your advice and went out and bought “Animals”.  I had the original album but not the CD yet.  If you look at the forum now versus the way it was when you left you will notice a big difference.  The sticky (you had suggested) has worked out well along with the “Ignore” option which many of us have been advocating for months were finally implemented a few weeks ago.

Prior to these changes this thread would have been trashed, derailed with about 50 posts by those who disagreed with me (and others).  Now people can just press the ignore button and “wala”… problem solved and the parents don’t have to wade thru a ton of trash and flame posts to get to the responses of the people trying to hold a civil conversation.



...
« Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 07:00:00 PM by Guest »

Offline Anonymous

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Re: StrugglingTeens changes their tune
« Reply #7 on: February 14, 2008, 01:18:46 PM »
Hey Who:

« Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 07:00:00 PM by Guest »

Offline TheWho

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Re: StrugglingTeens changes their tune
« Reply #8 on: February 14, 2008, 01:28:20 PM »
Quote from: "stoodoodog"
I recall referring to PV as a "boot camp" only to be corrected by an irate pro PV parent.
"PV is NOT a boot camp!!!! Nuff said" (direct quote)
Same parent referred to PV as a "therapeutic boarding school :ftard:", but I still can't ascertain exactly WHAT PV is.
I've seen many former PV patients call it a H*LL HOLE and that is what is was for me and my child (and countless relatives who were not allowed any contact with her).
Will hell hole be considered an alternative to boot camps and military academy's?



It is confusing and there is no agreed upon definition that I am aware of but the way I try to make the distinction to other parents is that a boot camp typically is a shorter stay (30/60 days) and work with the impression that the children are angry defiant kids so they deal with them with screaming back at them with the intent of getting their butts in line thru gaining control.
A TBS on the other hand takes a more softer approach (runs over 12 months) and works with kids thru providing a highly structured environment along with individual guidance and therapy…….  An RTC could be a hybrid with varying amounts of “Boot Camp” qualities and “TBS” qualities.

It is important to contact each school and get familiar with each schools policy towards discipline, structure and academics.


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Offline Covergaard

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Re: StrugglingTeens changes their tune
« Reply #9 on: February 14, 2008, 02:10:41 PM »
Sometime the changes are forced. Look at Aspens Excel Academy.

They have always issued orange jumpsuits to newcomers and they have always taken them down to the local jail for a little scare.

Suddenly they state that they no longer want to treat conduct problems, but addicts alone. Why?

Answer: There is a new sheriff in town.

A boy had been through the mandatory jailtrip where the inmates were allowed to put a little Vaseline on his backside after he had been ordered to strip. Suddenly the new sheriff arrested one of the staffmembers and ordered this practice to stop.

They had no choice to alter their program, because the new sheriff had removed the key-elements in it.

Here is the press release: The new Excel academy from the Fornits wiki page. and here is something about the incident: Deputy Charged Over Alleged Discipline

Some critics may say that it was a political stunt on the behalf of the sheriff, but I think he hit the target very well.
« Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 07:00:00 PM by Guest »

Offline ZenAgent

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Re: StrugglingTeens changes their tune
« Reply #10 on: February 14, 2008, 02:45:02 PM »
Good for the sheriff!  Don Vardell will a month or two there before the pressure gets to him and he flees again.
« Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 07:00:00 PM by Guest »
\"Allah does not love the public utterance of hurtful speech, unless it be by one to whom injustice has been done; and Allah is Hearing, Knowing\" - The Qur\'an

_______________________________________________
A PV counselor\'s description of his job:

\"I\'m there to handle kids that are psychotic, suicidal, homicidal, or have commited felonies. Oh yeah, I am also there to take them down when they are rowdy so the nurse can give them the booty juice.\"

Offline TheWho

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Re: StrugglingTeens changes their tune
« Reply #11 on: February 14, 2008, 05:24:31 PM »
I have never been a big fan of those scare tactics.  Our local police advocate having the kids arrested and thrown in jail for a day to teach the kids a lesson (minus the vasoline, I am sure).  They push this on parents and high schools but I think we will start to see this stop.  The sheriff had no choice but to fire his deputy for doing this regardless of what state they are in or school he was associated with.

It is good to see these TBS’ moving away from the tough love and boot camp mentality.  I think we will start seeing more of this in the future:

A little piece from their new improvements:


Our target student population and profile must include substance abuse as a primary issue. We do not take youth with conduct disorders and we typically prefer to have a full range of testing prior to acceptance.

“Our purpose: program and staff are all focused on ensuring our students learn to make the right choices, develop and maintain healthy relationships, and learn the skills for a successful life in recovery. We are doing this without coercive techniques and in a transparent and family engaging way.”



...
« Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 07:00:00 PM by Guest »

Offline Botched Programming

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Re: StrugglingTeens changes their tune
« Reply #12 on: February 14, 2008, 06:00:29 PM »
Quote from: "TheWho"

A little piece from their new improvements:


Our target student population and profile must include substance abuse as a primary issue. We do not take youth with conduct disorders and we typically prefer to have a full range of testing prior to acceptance.

“Our purpose: program and staff are all focused on ensuring our students learn to make the right choices, develop and maintain healthy relationships, and learn the skills for a successful life in recovery. We are doing this without coercive techniques and in a transparent and family engaging way.”



...


This is all lies and propaganda.... part of the "Sales Pitch"
« Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 07:00:00 PM by Guest »

Offline TheWho

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Re: StrugglingTeens changes their tune
« Reply #13 on: February 14, 2008, 06:18:46 PM »
I think all of us realize that it takes a wakeup call, sometimes, to recognize an opportunity and implement improvements.  What Excel Academy is doing is a reflection of the changes being made to the entire industry.  It seems many of the more successful TBS's are heading in a new direction with a softer approach to helping teens at-risk and better defining the types of kids that they are most successful in helping based on the schools' individual model.

It is becoming more and more important to review multiple placements as the schools are becoming more specialized in the type of children they can accept and successfully help.


Here is a link for your review of Excel Academys changes:
http://www.strugglingteens.com/artman/publish/EXCELAcademyTexasPR_080206.shtml


...
« Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 07:00:00 PM by Guest »

Offline Botched Programming

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Re: StrugglingTeens changes their tune
« Reply #14 on: February 14, 2008, 06:47:12 PM »
Quote from: "TheWho"

I think all of us realize that it takes a wakeup call, sometimes, to recognize an opportunity and implement improvements.  What Excel Academy is doing is a reflection of the changes being made to the entire industry.  It seems many of the more successful TBS's are heading in a new direction with a softer approach to helping teens at-risk and better defining the types of kids that they are most successful in helping based on the schools' individual model.

It is becoming more and more important to review multiple placements as the schools are becoming more specialized in the type of children they can accept and successfully help.


Here is a link for your review of Excel Academys changes:
http://www.strugglingteens.com/artman/publish/EXCELAcademyTexasPR_080206.shtml


...


Right..... And we survivors were just born yesterday.

Again more propaganda and sales pitches.
« Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 07:00:00 PM by Guest »