i've watched bratcamp twice now...so while i am not an expert on the show, i did notice a few things...
1.) there is a boy there, who tried to stab his twin..on the episode i saw, it turns out he is dyslexic and has been tortured by his brother all his life for being 'stupid'....stupid mother, where has she been???? anyways, the episode i saw, taught this boy that if he perserveres he can do things, he's not stupid...in fact his words were, 'i know now i can do anything i set my mind too'...you could see his pride...a huge thing, pride, huge to gain, huge to keep...a huge life lesson...how long would it have been for him to learn this on his own at home? probably never
2.) another girl overcame huge fear to rappel...huge huge fear, but they encouraged her...and they were allowed not to do it...one boy backed down...she was scared out of her tree, but she did it...she was sexually abused and has tremendously low self esteem...she know benefits from knowing that when the going gets tough she bucks up...how empowering!!
3.) they are teaching these kids, possibly for the first time in their lives, to work as a TEAM, to work for a common goal
4.) their parents are obviously -for the most part- completely incompetent -why haven't they sought help before this? this could be an opportunity for these kids to learn so many life skills...and to get out of an environment that is crippling and abusive and see another way of life for the first time ever...when you are a child, you tend to think that how your life is, is the only way
5.) the part i don't like, is the intrusive part...i don't want to and north america does not deserve to see these children's pain...they were abused and are hurt and tender and we have no right to be watching them cry
6.) but i really like the parts where i see these kids accomplish goals and feel proud - possibly for the first time...these kids haven't had a whole lot of opportunities to feel good about themselves, probably do not have a lot of people in their lives who say i will not give up on you, you can do it
it would be really interesting to do a 1 yr after study on these kids and hear from them what they thought of it all