This was in the Winnipeg Sun this morning.

Hard line to save son - TOM BRODBECK

Caroline, a single mother of two teens, said she was running out of options when she sent her troubled, quarrelsome 14-year-old son to a military-style, private boarding school in Ontario last year. Technically, it's not a boot camp. But as a rigorous, highly disciplined academy that teaches respect, loyalty and responsibility, it may as well be.
Read more... (http://winnipegsun.com/News/Columnists/Brodbeck_Tom/2006/03/22/1499295.html)

Structure is a good thing. As opposed to lines of reasoning like this as I am, it still strikes me as reasonable to affect change in people like me. Not that I wouldn't kick and scream all the way! What's $34,000 between friends anyway. :eyebrow:
Ian

I take it all back.

I can't believe that a harder line would have done me any good. God knows, they tried. Spanking and whatever negative input only served to hack away my self esteem and destroy any hope of a positive self image.

My parents are wholly off the hook on this. What chance did they have to do differently? I'd guess next to none, given the standards of the times then.

With our youngest, it seems I've had some success softening the hard line. We absolutely pounded the school on these issues this year. Not a ball was dropped on my part and I hounded every move to make it accountable. The pattern for years has been that by Christmas break things are beginning to fall apart and by spring break it's chaos.

Yesterday Manon brought home a glowing report card with unprecedented levels of performance. Even with the thickest teacher she managed a 75%.
Fight!
Ian

There is a whole industry that makes mega-money from "boot-camping" kids who are acting out. (It's more of a US thing, ofcourse.)

I understand that the research is vague on this. If anything, it just makes the kids angrier when they come out.

Ontario (under Mike Harris' gov't) tried to implement Boot Camp for Young Offenders. Now we have more than ever. (Likely due to the drastic welfare cuts he did in the early 90s. Toronto has more angry young people with problems due to poverty during their developmental years, than ever...)

Anger and rigidity only makes more anger and rigidity (and crime/violence).

Why not teach kids to be reflective?

Girl, you teased me into this old thread in a nano second! :D
Cheers!