305. Villa Maria boarding school in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

Today this school is no longer a boarding school for girls. It is a private school. It seems like a good decision considering what a former student told about her stay which has left her with emontional scars.

It is safe to state that it could not have been a fun place to be as a teenage girl before year 1966.

Sources

• Nuns on the run from the truth (Salon.com)
• Oakdale Woman Warns Of Sexual Abuse By Nuns (Your Lawyer)
• Villa Maria (school) (Wikipedia)

304. “Marine Corps” boot camp, South Korea

A lot of high school students were forced through a boot camp program so they could be better students when the new school year should start.

It is quiet normal in South Korea to punish students into becoming more productive using boot camps due to the parents redrawal from the task of raising their children when the challenges occur.

This time some of the students died.

The so-called “Marine Corps” boot camp which borrowed the name from the military but had no ties with any official agency allowed the students to partipate in activities supervised by people not trained for the task.

The result became death. It is an odd kind of culture. In Denmark we know that students become more productive when there is a friday bar on campus where the students can meet and create a social network they can use during their business career.

The boot camp doesn’t sound like a fun place to be as a teenager.

Sources:

• South Korea’s Military Culture Under Scrutiny After Teen Boot Camp Deaths (Global Voice Online)
• Article about the funeral (In Korean Language)
• S Korean police widen probe into boot camp deaths (Asia One)

303. Phoenix Outdoor

Phoenix Outdoor was a wilderness program located in North Carolina. A number of teenagers ran despite the dangers of running around in the wilderness where they could be prey for animals or freeze to death during the winter as it just happened last month to a 17 year old boy in another program.

It didn’t sound like a fun place to be as a teenager.

The program was merged together with another program operated by the same owner.

Sources:

• One teen runaway found, two missing (McDowell News)
• Runaway from Phoenix Outdoor Wilderness (Fornits Home for Wayward Web Fora)

302. King Family Ministries School

King Family Ministries School – also known as – the Second Chance Ranch was a religious boarding school located in North Carolina.

It was closed by the authorities. A member of the management was sentenced in court.

It is safe to state that it was not a fun place to be as a teenager.

Sources:

• History of Violence: Christian boarding schools and the trial of Jack Patterson
• Staff list for King Family Ministries in Danbury, CT (HEAL-online)

301. Farrer Memorial Agricultural High School, Australia

The Farrer Memorial Agricultural High School was founded in 1939. It is located in Calala, New South Wales, Australia. In 2018 there was about 580 students.

At the school a “sack” system where older students were given too much power too soon resulted in massive punishment and bullying of smaller students.

Corporal punishment became the norm.

The school administration didn’t bother.

It is safe to state that it wasn’t fun to be a teenager at this school.

Sources:

• Teachers ‘ignored bullied boy’s pleas’ (The Sydney Morning Herald)
• School of hard knocks still follows tradition, say parents (The Sydney Morning Herald)
• Bullying victim washed in bleach, court told (Brisbane Times)
• Bullied high school student wins NSW law suit (ABC Australia)
• Bullied student will get compensation from state of NSW (The Daily Telegraph)

300. Teen Challenge, New Mexico

Various testimonies speak of poor treatment at Teen Challenge in New Mexico. An investigation was launced by the authorities after photos of teenagers cleaning sewers with no proper safety gear. It seems sure that it cannot be a fun place to be as a teenager.

A parents group on Facebook working against the facility has been founded.

Sources:

• Parents Against Teen Challenge of NM (Facebook)
• Critics: Grandparent access law threatens parental rights (KCDB News)

299. Group home in Corona run by pastor Lonny L. Remmers

A boy was tortured in bible class. He was also forced to digg his own grave. Fortunately they stopped there. Not he is safe and two employees and the pastor learned the consequences of breaking the law.

It is safe to say that it could not have been fun to live at the yet to be named Group home in Corona which was run by the pastor.

Sources:

• RIVERSIDE: Witness says boy assaulted at Bible study (The Press Enterprise)
• California pastor, 2 others admit they tortured 13-year-old, forced him to dig own grave (My Daily News)

298. Center for Discovery

Center for Discovery has been around for some time. Right now they are mostly known as being the new sponsor of the Dr. Phil show where teenagers are sent after Aspen Education Group has financial challenges.

Recently a girl confined to the center after one of the shows escaped december 1. She was secured from the streets of L.A. after a week in a poor state. Hopefully she will taken home to recover.

Among the reviews found on the Internet, we could see these two:

Our son was leaving the hospital and needed additional treatment for severe depression and we did not know where to turn. The recommendation was to find placement in a residential treatment center for 3 to 9 months. We were overwhelmed by the immediacy and urgency of the situation, trying to research programs in and out of state, and battling with the insurance company. Unfortunately, we chose the Center for Discovery in Whittier because it was closeby so we could visit, our insurance partially covered the cost, and the 30 days would buy us time to find a longer term program if needed. To this day my son still has flashbacks of the horrible treatment he received by the staff at this facility, and his father and I will forever regret sending him there. He was abused by an older teen while supposedly under “24 hour staff supervision” and a police report was supposedly filed. Staff at this facility showed the adolescent residents a complete lack of empathy, often abusing power and control, and telling the teens they should lie to their parents in family session and say that they’re getting better or elso they would be sent away to 2-year long programs. For the exhorbitant fees they charge, you’d think that they would not only most imnportantly have decent staff, but also a decent facility. The pathetic little basketball hoop in the parking lot was bent. Luckily, after this horrible place, our son went to the Anasazi Program in Arizona, which was truly a healing place, and he still talks about his good memories of Anasazi. If you need to send your teen into a therapeutic recovery program, it can be heartwrenching. I recommend avoiding Center for Discovery and the physical, emotional and financial pain it will cause you and your family.

Our experience completely mirrors Elissa’s. Avoid sending your child to Center for Discovery at all cost. They do more harm than good. Our daughter was also being treated for severe depression. She was too much work so they sent her away and basically told us “good luck” don’t let the door hit you on the way out.

Stay away

It doesn’t sound like a fun place to be as a teenager.

Sources:

• Reviews
• Missing TTI Victims Teens