Does anyone think this is actually a good thing?

[LeopardSkinQueen]

http://observer.guardian.co.uk/magazine ... .html?=rss

[hr][s]"Frodo breathed heavily and leaned against Sam, who put his arms about him." 'Lord Of The Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, Book 2'
[/s]

[Anon.]

That is truly horrifying.

[Wong]

<¦-(

[hr]When you play with fire
You must anticipate some burns
Chasing for desire
It's just a different way to learn

[Amanda]

that's awful.

[Cain]

if i ever do that to my kids, take me outside and shoot me.

i don't even know where to begin in saying how wrong that whole thing is.

and just think, it's going on RIGHT NOW, to hundreds of kids.

[cberry]

I do not agree with these institutions, though I do think that article is very poorly written; very sensationalist and little few relevant facts. I have read quite a bit on these schools before and I don't think they are as bad as they are made out to be in this article. The Boston Globe did a series on these schools about two years ago which was interesting; it mostly focused on interviewing students who actually went to these schools: some had positive effects to their behaviour, but many had serious emotional problems due to the experience. The Globe also focused on WHY these schools exist: parents who have lost hope in their troubled teenage kids. The series went into what it takes for parents to become so desperate that they in a way give up on doing it themselves and trust a little-known company to do it for them (these are also comparable to the military schools in the states, I had a troubled friend go to one with neglible results). I just tried searching the globe site with no success, will try later and post the articles.

[munchingfoo]

In my opinion, this kind of 'treatment' is, in some cases, necesary. However, before everyone hates me, let me make my point that I do not believe this camp is fair.

I really hate incredibley unruley children who have been brought up to do what they want, when they want, with no regard for others. This is an atitude which will undermine modern, polite, society. This does however bring me round to the point of my post, it is the parents, for the most part, who should be held responsible for their childs atitudes, and it is therefore unfair to punish the child and not the parent for them.

Picking up on misbehaving(extreme cases only, most children naturaly misbehave) should occur earlier, and the parents of these children should be shown, 'forceably if necessary', how to look after their kids.

[Cain]

a lot of what i got from this article was that a lot of these kids had been failed by their parents, and had gone off the rails as a result.

I do agree that it is hard to deal with kids, especially kids who can seem uncontrollable, but there MUST be a better way of doing it than Tranquility.

One girl was sent there when she started going out with "an unsuitable boyfriend." so her parents had her abducted and packed off somewhere for who knows how long. something says to me "not working very hard for their kids." either that or they're just not interested in their children if they turn out to be too much hard work.

while a few of the parents had seemed to be at their wits end with their kids, some of them seemed like they just couldn't be bothered dealing with them.

in which case who is the person who needs to be socialised properly?

[hr]
I hold an element of surprise

[cheimon]

I have a good friend who was expelled from our school for shoplifting a CD. His parents sent him to a school pretty much like this one, except it's in the wilds of northern New Hampshire. He is there for a minimum of 2 years, during which he can't leave or have any contact with anyone the school doesn't deem a 'positive influence.' In addition, many of these schools don't allow the use of any sort of medication, so my friend is without his antidepressants and Ritalin for ADHD.

What's terrible about this is that very often these kids AREN'T the delinquents you would think. My friend is a relatively normal guy who got caught doing something stupid (he'd never shoplifted before) and got screwed for it by his ultra-conservative parents, who don't like the fact that he's gay and a bit punk.

I haven't heard from him for over a year now, and I have no idea what state he will be in when he comes out of that place, but there is no way I would ever support an institution like this. Private organizations have no business acting like prison guards.

[Aer]

!
that is horrible..
!

incidentally, there was a US film or something about a similar thing, with a whole "level" system. bizarre that such a thing actually exists in real life.

[hr]Always remember, no matter how drunk you are, that tomorrow you will be sober. and probably will have one biiiig hangover.

[Ashley]

[s]Aer wrote on 07:09, 2nd Oct 2003:
incidentally, there was a US film or something about a similar thing, with a whole "level" system. bizarre that such a thing actually exists in real life.

I think there was but this is also eerily like Clockwork Orange for me..

[hr]
Nobody ever mentions the weather can make or break your day

[Biitchboy]

Surely alot of that is against their human rights???

Real prisoners/criminals are not allowed to be treated like that.

[hr]If I gave a shit, you'd be the first person I'd give it to.

http://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/~lgbtsoc

[Hex]

Yeah, nasty it may be, but it's old news. Has anyone else actually read this months ago?

[Cornflake Boy]

[s]Hex wrote on 13:44, 2nd Oct 2003:
Yeah, nasty it may be, but it's old news. Has anyone else actually read this months ago?


Not that I'm the one to start flaming: But perhaps we all don't catch up with the news as regularly as you might.

You on the other hand might like to consider posting something that's actually understandable.

[LeopardSkinQueen]

[s]Hex wrote on 13:44, 2nd Oct 2003:
Yeah, nasty it may be, but it's old news.


Just because something is 'old news' doesn't mean that the problem has gone away, and that awareness of the issue doesn't need to be raised. For example, we hear next to nothing aout East Timor these days, and yet the region still has its troubles.

I found out a couple of weeks ago in conversation with some people that there were people who knew nothing of it, and decided to post it here as an issue that most students would feel strongly about- most of us can empathise easily with those poor teenagers.

[hr]
[s]"Frodo breathed heavily and leaned against Sam, who put his arms about him." 'Lord Of The Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, Book 2'
[/s]