<< 1 >>
Rating: 
Summary: Two Sides to the Stories
Review: I have just read this book and must say there there are as many positive, healing and successful stories, if not more, from children whose lives have been turned around in teen-help residential programs. When a parent is considering a residential program for thier teen, they usually have tried everything else. Sometimes it is no fault of their own and sometimes it is mostly their fault that their teen is out of control. There are good schools out there and there are poor schools. Personally we visited and experienced both types. Our criteria boiled down to this: 1. there is no quick fix to our teen's problems, dispite the advertized results; 2. the program must have been successful and parents and family lives must have improved after and through the process of helping our teen; and 3. we wanted our teen safe and away from distructive influences. Our solution was the WWASP programs and they worked.
Rating:
Summary: Well rounded, informative, and entertaining all at the same
Review: I myself was sent to three different "Boarding Schools" or "Behavior Modification" programs. This book did a great job in showing the readers what these places are really like. I Just hope it makes a parent think twice before they decide to send their teen away to a "behavior modification" program. Thanks Alexia.
Rating: 
Summary: All Too True.
Review: This book was a tell-tale story of what happens to kids who are considered "out of control". I myself was placed in one of the facilities that was mentioned in this book and everything that was said about it was absolutely true. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who has been sent to a boarding school, who knows of someone who has, or is considering sending their own child away. There is so much information regarding the legal system and how it works for these schools, plus how it works against the children who are placed in the custody of the schools. Read it.
Rating: 
Summary: Poorly written, but a story that begs hearing...
Review: When I first read _An American Gulag_, I was put-off by Alexia's voice. She is very blunt, and can launch into somewhat histrionic tirades, working herself -- and you, dear reader! -- into a frenzied pitch. The book, itself, sits heavy, too. Abject corruption, abuse, and greed going on in unregulated private facilities for troubled kids certainly isn't something most people want to hear about. But -- despite that Alexia's style left me feeling raw; despite that I didn't always agree with her methods -- I kept reading because what she has to say in _Gulag_ is valid, worthy, and, worst of all, true.Is Alexia harsh? God, yes. Is her work tough to swallow? Definitely. Should she be commended for shining a bright light on the broken machine of an entire, booming industry, and then forcing us to take a good long look at it? Absolutely. Must-Read for educators and parents.
<< 1 >>
| 
