VERY BRIEF RESPONSE RE WWASPS: Two parts: 1) I strongly recommend that anyone interested in this subject do a Nexis search for “wwasp” or, if you don’t have access to Nexis, at least check out the Observer piece here. Nexis will find for you a host of reports from a wide range of credible news sources–it isn’t just one biased reporter finding problems with Wwasps schools.

2) That said, even pretty bad “boot camp”-type programs can transform lives for the better. Virtually all such programs have graduates who laud the program and say it saved their lives or their families. People are complicated. I am sure that many parents and graduates who praise Wwasp programs are 100% accurately reporting their experiences and the effects on their lives and families; that does not, in my view, make the programs overall a good idea.

3) Finally, I’d like to stress that my initial piece also includes suggestions for places where parents of troubled teens can receive advice and aid. It would have been irresponsible of me, I think, to have written a piece that appeared to leave desperate parents with nowhere to turn.