O2: Well I'm always up for rational dialogue. She can PM me if she wants. The problem I have is supporting any CEDU-type school that might be built. I think the problem is systemic. I think you can have the best intentions and it goes awry sort of like how power corrupts politicians--they still have to deal with the reality that there is already a game in place with special interests and corporate funding etc.
I know part of the problem was that I was not part of my own empowerment or therapy. There was no individual plan or work. They didn't even ask. In raps, there was no way I was going to lay my soul bare for people to misuse and exploit unethically. It really was a breeding ground for bullies.
I think part of the problem was that they assumed all the kids were liars and they knew the real deal. This offended me because I always answered honestly. I never lie to a direct question. Not because I'm so moral, but because I'm so transparent. I did not like or respect people who did not take what I say at face value or accused me of lying about my story. (I'm not talking about differences in perception.) I know that a lot of kids did lie or exaggerate and maybe the staff viewed all troubled kids as liars and manipulators. I don't know. I think a lot of staff had their own issues (especially the newer ones) and they would project it onto us. Like the family head who was an addict and he treated me like an addict because I experimented even though I easily quit months before CEDU and never went back. Nobody asked --ever--what was up, and I resented people just deciding what the issue was and rewriting my story.
I don't know if this part of CEDU has changed but they definitely were not equipped to deal with kids on an individual basis such as if you had ADD, Anxiety, Depression etc. You can't just medicate everyone or yell at people with anxiety or ADD. You have to be really thoughtful. You have to teach kids strategies to get through life self sufficiently with ADD or depression or whatever so they can make life work regardless of teh challenges they face.
On the other hand, I think we over label kids who are simply unique in an effort to fit them in a tidy box. The teenage years are years where experiemntation, rejection, rebellion, and independence forms, and it is a very mercurial time. Sometimes you just gotta ride it out.
If your Mom peruses the board at all, she will find a lot of useful info on different programs and a lot of it is disturbing. (I think Straight and its affiliates are the worst, and I couldn't fathom any parent sending their kid to a foreign country.) Honestly? And I will get my ass kicked here, I do think we need to help especially troubled kids, but I don't know how.
It is interesting to look at what different people complain about. Some seem trifling, others draconian.
