Abundant Life Academy Under Investigation

[LongDogMom]

Addicting Info has a story about Abundant Life Academy, a Christian "therapeutic boarding school for teens who are struggling" being under investigation for the boarding school staff (3 "Life Coaches" and the Program Director) caught on video beating a 14 yr old teen. Apparently: "Although the surveillance footage above only shows this particular attack, there is also a three-hour video that exposes the boarding school’s staff members making the teen do push-ups and horse stances, and throwing him to the ground. The victim said that after the three-hour assault, the staff members woke him up every 90 minutes to punish him for “talking to a girl.†The four men involved in the attack ...were charged with simple assault. Galligan is also facing 12 child endangerment charges for forcing teen boys at the boarding school to stand in a swamp for extended periods." http://www.addictinginfo.org/2014/10/10 ... irl-video/

At their website - http://www.abundantlifeacademy.com/ Abundant Life Academy says their goal is "to provide teens and their families with the tools and resources to thrive academically, relationally and spiritually. We help once troubled teens to begin living a fulfilling life, equipping teens to become happy, confident, self-reliant, and successful adults. We work with troubled teens that have had a disconnect somewhere along the line and have gotten off track in life. Academically, the teens we typically serve have been outstanding students in the past, or have the potential to be so, yet are not currently applying themselves; their emotional and conduct issues are getting in the way of academics. Most of the teens that come our boarding school are struggling with selfishness, entitlement, and finding motivation primarily in the poor peer choices they are making. They are in need of restoration through a greater understanding of the value of who they are and where they fit in in their family and in the world (their purpose)."

Has anyone heard of this place?

[thoughtful]

I thought we had discussed them before, but a search turned up nothing.

Hope the investigation into the school continues.

[doggie]

I was going to post this and forgot. These are the things that make me almost hate some christians. I would believe in god if he Slapped the shit out of them.

[DGayle]

This sounds like something Michael Pearl would have his hands all over.

[thoughtful]

This sounds like something Michael Pearl would have his hands all over.

Nah. More like something that would reinforce his belief that kids should be homeschooled, so they can get proper care and education be beaten and humiliated in private, with just enough affection and fun to create a really good case of Stockholm Syndrome.

If he's seen this news story, he's probably gloating that they got caught in the act.

[Palimpsest]

Yet another one. Off the top of my head I think we've discussed the Rolloff Homes, New Beginnings, Marvelous Grace, Hephzibah House, and Heritage Boys, but the list keeps growing. I think CAFETY (cafety.org) is doing a good job working on it as a combined effort.

With the greater scrutiny the "schools" are moving overseas though. Good recent documentary -- Kidnapped for Christ.

[FloraKitty35]

Nah. More like something that would reinforce his belief that kids should be homeschooled, so they can get proper care and education be beaten and humiliated in private, with just enough affection and fun to create a really good case of Stockholm Syndrome.

If he's seen this news story, he's probably gloating that they got caught in the act.

And he is mentally noting what they did to humiliate and degrade and seeing if he can add a new twist to what he's already doing.

[DGayle]

Nah. More like something that would reinforce his belief that kids should be homeschooled, so they can get proper care and education be beaten and humiliated in private, with just enough affection and fun to create a really good case of Stockholm Syndrome.

If he's seen this news story, he's probably gloating that they got caught in the act.

Michael Pearl has monetized child-beating and doesn't care about privacy. He talks about whipping his kids and that travesty of a honeymoon he had. I bet, if anything, he's jealous he didn't think of making a place like this first. Imagine getting paid to whip kids? I think I said it before, but I'm not entirely against a swat on the butt when a kid keeps misbehaving and won't stop*, but Michael seems to get some excited sexual thrill out of it.

(*The issue I've been having lately is my girls have decided it's fun to fun and jump on the floor at night when their dad is at work. I can only physically hold and stop one of them. It doesn't do any good to take away toy or privileges when the fun is seeing who can make the loudest stomp. This is a big problem since the people below us have complained to management about the kids being loud at night, and we got a warning. So I started telling the girls one more stomp, and they're getting a spank. It's not hard enough to hurt, but enough to annoy. I've had to spanks 2x in the last 3 weeks because now they stop and are now having more nights where it's not even worth starting.

No one I've asked has had any workable ideas. I already take the girls out to run out their energy before bed, they don't get sugar, you name it. They act up like this when Dad has a late shift, and he doesn't have the ability to tell the boss no without getting fired.

But I hate it. I hate ever having to spank the kids, but the alternative is getting evicted. I'm going with the lesser of the evils, but I hate it.

Michael Pearl giggles like a kid on Christmas talking about how to whip kids until they're emotionally drained and broken.)