Elan School
elan.school
Elan School
1–10 of 59 posts
Re: Elan School
#2I was completely unaware of the existence of Elan School and I couldn't find much on the site that talks about what's going on unless you actually read the comic. Unfortunately it's the middle of the work day so I don't have time to read the comic right now but I wanted to know what it was about to know if I should come back to it.
If you're in a similar boat: Elan School was apparently a behavior modification/"therapeutic" boarding school in Maine that engaged in some extremely controversial practices: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Élan_School
The comic is an autobiographical tale of a person that was forced to attend this facility against their will at the age of 16, ostensibly via kidnapping. It's really harrowing stuff.
EDIT: brevity
Re: Elan School
#3Here's a lovely list of notable alumni, from their wikipedia page:
Notable alumni
> Tiffany Sedaris, artist, and sister of Amy Sedaris and David Sedaris. Tiffany's two years at Élan is cited in her sibling's writings and interviews as deeply traumatic to her, and a direct cause of her inability to form normal relationships with her family members. After decades of struggling with mental illness, Tiffany ultimately committed suicide in May 2013.[23][24]
> Michael Skakel, convicted in the murder of Martha Moxley. The case drew media attention largely because Skakel is related to the Kennedy family.[5]
> Ben Weasel, of the punk rock band Screeching Weasel.[13]
> Phil Williams Jr. died at age 15, after being forced to participate in the school's notorious boxing-ring punishment.[25]
Re: Elan School
#4I was completely unaware of the existence of Elan School and I couldn't find much on the site that talks about what's going on unless you actually read the comic. Unfortunately it's the middle of the work day so I don't have time to read the comic right now but I wanted to know what it was about to know if I should come back to it. If you're in a similar boat: Elan School was apparently a behavior modification/"thera…
There is actually a compilation of evidence of what went on at the Elan School here - https://elan.school/proof/
Re: Elan School
#5I went to a similar school called CEDU, same protocol for getting students there, same abuse. Elan school was actually actively contacting current students parents of CEDU right when it closed down to get them to come to Elan. Most of the people I went to CEDU with are broken or dead. There are more schools like this, they just close down and start again. I'll plug Daniel Yuen's name here, he was at the facility with me at the same time and ran away and is still missing 18 years later
Re: Elan School
#6I read the entire comic two days ago, it left me disturbed and angry.
It's tragic to what humans are possible, and terrifying to see the results of countless studies in real life - abused for money.
I don't understand how the school could exist for so long, conditions were straight up evil - how did nobody publish that in a mainstream newspaper?
Re: Elan School
#7I went to a similar school called CEDU, same protocol for getting students there, same abuse. Elan school was actually actively contacting current students parents of CEDU right when it closed down to get them to come to Elan. Most of the people I went to CEDU with are broken or dead. There are more schools like this, they just close down and start again. I'll plug Daniel Yuen's name here, he was at the facility with…
What justification was used by your parents in sending you there?
Re: Elan School
#8I read the entire comic two days ago, it left me disturbed and angry. It's tragic to what humans are possible, and terrifying to see the results of countless studies in real life - abused for money. I don't understand how the school could exist for so long, conditions were straight up evil - how did nobody publish that in a mainstream newspaper?
Not only how it existed, but how people could find cause to send their own children there.
Re: Elan School
#9I went to a similar school called CEDU, same protocol for getting students there, same abuse. Elan school was actually actively contacting current students parents of CEDU right when it closed down to get them to come to Elan. Most of the people I went to CEDU with are broken or dead. There are more schools like this, they just close down and start again. I'll plug Daniel Yuen's name here, he was at the facility with…
What justification was used by your parents in sending you there?
One challenge parents face is they don't feel there are other options.
They often cannot get services locally, cannot get kids into anything in patient, cannot get discipline going.
It's a weird dichotomy. You let your kid walk to park alone, you could face jail time. You send them to one of these camps, no issues.
In addition to criticizing these program's I'd love to see better suggested options for often desperate parents, especially for kids who are a bit older.
A lot of bad actors, but these schools have an opening sometimes where other systems are not stepping up.
Re: Elan School
#10I originally found this link 2 days ago from this HN discussion on the troubled teen industry: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30819756. I sat through and read the entire thing in one sitting. It's gripping and incredibly horrifying at the same time.