Fornits

Fornits Home for Wayward Web Fora
An open discussion about the troubled parent industry

http://www.operationflinders.org

A guy i was at uni with is involved with the board of these people. i found out by mistake. They get funding from govt grants as well as benevolent donations. There are apparently a couple of wilderness type things in Australia. i am still looking at it here. It is not really an "industry" in that it is not for profit and is largely aimed at socially or economically disadvantaged kids. From what i have read so far the "progammes" similar to this mostly do not have the kids away from civilisation for more than about a week at a time. As far as i can see or am aware there is no tough love focus. I do not have first hand experience with it but my understanding from talking to my friend and reading the website info is that ;

1. Juevenile offenders or those "at risk"go and it is free
2. The kids are nominated by their social workers or schools and (i think) go voluntarily. The kid is visited at home with their family a few times for a meet and greet with the staff.
3. It is 8 days long and the kids must be over 14 and physically fit.
4. Their campsite has food waiting for them & bush showers.
5. The mission statement (if that is anything to go by of course) puts an emphasis on the kid having fun as well as learning skills.
6. Apparently the "therapudic" element is in the acticvity in itself. the kid does not confess their sins or write in diaries etc.
7. This programme is staffed by volunteers who are mainly ex cops or army guys
8. There is a positive peer culture element. My understanding is that the kid who goes back is selected by a jury of adult staff and works under supervision and direction of the adult staff.

I dont know what i think of it. From what i know of it it seems fairly above board and to have reasonably noble aims. After all i have read about its eq in the US though I would not like to see an industry that looks and feels like the "tough love" industry grow here. Was this what you were looking for or more state run hospitals etc?

So the other day I watched the french documentary. I had seen it before i knew anything about the industry & then forgot about it or the name of the programme it was looking at.
What really surprised me was that the guys who run WWASP are all profoundly undynamic and uncharismatic. I had initially imagined guys like Tony Robbins or Dr Phil or Bill Clinton. Lying smooth operators with a can do attitude and a charm that convinces people to do or believe anything. i figured that this was the only way people would believe that they were saving lives etc.
 Instead Litchfield who is afterall the kingpin of this came across as beligerent and antisocial, Randal Hilton piggish and alarmingly stupid and Ken kay a kind of earnest but none too bright chap with a love of bad shirts.
Even allowing for the fact that the production company was French and there is no love lost between the French and America, these guys didnt exactly make it tough for them to protray them badly. only ken Kay came across as the kind of bloke that you would even wish to spend more than 3 minutes with and that is because he came across as harmless and dim.

So my question is What is the appeal? The whole point of being a cult leader is charisma. None of these guys seemed to have this. They all looked like rank amateurs. This seems to be in contrast to other programmes which have the appearance (even if it is appearance alone) of being quite professional. What do people think?

Can someone explain/weigh in- is ODD:

A) a real disorder

B) a euphemism that is used when a kid is just a little shit

C) a cheap and cynical marketing tool for drug companies and the troubled teen industry to make big bicckies from kids who are having some real issues

D) any or all of the above
Discuss.

Hi everyone. i am looking to speak to as many alumni from as many programmes as possible as I am researching the industry with a focus on the kids who go through it. If you wish to speak to me you can pm me here or send me an email @
[email protected]
 

Hi everyone. i am looking to speak to as many alumni from as many programmes as possible as I am researching the industry with a focus on the kids who go through it. If you wish to speak to me you can pm me here or send me an email @
[email protected]
 

Hi everyone. i am looking to speak to as many alumni from as many programmes as possible as I am researching the industry with a focus on the kids who go through it. If you wish to speak to me you can pm me here or send me an email @
[email protected]

Do you think that  the owners and senior managers of programmes are 100%cynical about it being a money making exercise? do you think they feel it helps kids, and is morally ok  or is is a little from column a a little from column b.

When I read the Guardian interview with Jay Kay, he did not really seem to hide much. Someone told me agreeed to the interview in a bid to try and capture the British market but it backfired because the angle was that the school is horrid. To be this open about the horrors of it indicates to me that you are either retarded or you feel that the world shares your view that this is a good thing for the youth under your control.

What do those with direct experience or insight think?
 :question:

Many of the TBS school websites I have seen talk about kids with poor academic skills getting into good colleges as a result of the smaller classes etc. I thought that American kids had to apply directly to the university and then got assessed and either taken or declined based on what the uni thought of them.
If this is the way things are done does this mean some uni's may not go by grades alone? wouldnt being at a school designed for "troubled" kids potentially then work against a kid?