It's hard to believe but we are headed out to Monarch for the last time. Its just two months shy of two years since Josh went away, and now he is coming home!
As much as the first few months seemed to crawl by, the last few have flown by. And since for a while Josh has been able to come home to visit every 5 or 6 weeks, it hasn't been as painful to have him away at school. And, of course, as we've watched him grow and mature, we've become more and more convinced that the decision to send him to Monarch was a good one. The school's not perfect but by and large we have had a great experience and I know Josh would say the same.
The one thing I don't really understand (and couldn't get a great answer from the school) is why they have graduation at the end of April instead of the end of May, when other schools have theirs. It means that Josh would come home and have nothing to do and no one to do it with, since all of his friends will still be in school. Seemed to us like a recipe for falling back into his old ways if he had too much time on his hands. So we went to the high school where he will do his senior year and asked if he could come to school for the last six weeks of junior year...not for credit, which he doesn't need and couldn't get, but just to have something to do and somewhere to go...a way to add structure to his day.
At first they said that they didn't didn't have kids register for school when there wasn't enough time left in the semester to get credit ( but it is a public high school and they can't deny him, right?) ...but when we exlained the situation they were great about it and have set up a special plan to reintegrate him into school life. ...so Tuesday morning at 8:00 he will return to our local high school for the rest of the semester. He'll also start driver's Ed in the evenings so I guess he'll be pretty busy.
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Ellen I would really like to connect with you. I have questions about Monarch. Would you be open to a phone call or email?
ReplyDeleteYes, absolutely! I'd be happy to talk about Monarch. Are you considering it for your child?
ReplyDeleteEllen thank you for sharing your experience. Unfortunately, my ex and I are about to make the difficult decision to send our son to a wilderness program (Second Nature). Even harder for me is knowing that it's almost a sure thing that a therapuetic boarding school is what will be recommended following wilderness.
ReplyDeleteCan you please make a post regarding how Josh did in reintegrating to home and the local school and how he is doing now? Thanks again for all you've done to help other parents and I hope all is well for your son and family.
As a parent to a teenage boy who is caught up with video games I would like to know if the ordeal you all had to go through has stuck with him two years later.
ReplyDeleteWe are still struggling and a boarding school has not been the answer for us.
Hi Sandie
ReplyDeleteYes. Josh is now a sophomore in college and is doing very well. Does he still have struggles from time to time? Yes. Does he still like video games? Yes. But he is no longer addicted to them. He has other activities he enjoys. He has matured and many of the things he learned have stuck with him. He has the tools to cope with life's challenges and that is the most important gift he got from Monarch. As parents, we also learned a lot from our experience with Monarch and our relationship with Josh is much stronger and healthier as a result. Best of luck to you. The one thing I would strongly recommend is getting help from a highly qualified education consultant. It's expensive but worth it to find the right program.
I am so grateful I have stumbled upon your blog. As I type this my son is on a plane with his father bound for Salt Lake City and Elements. He is the same age your Josh was when he first went and although the reasons why he is going there are multitude, PC gaming has a lot to do with it. Ironically, my husband works for a PC gaming company (a competitor to WOW). I was going to ask how Josh is doing after Elements and Monarch because this, too, is the path my son will be going (not Monarch per-say but therapeutic boarding school. Thankfully, you addressed that as well. We do have a great educational consultant team helping us along this journey. It is so incredibly hard to see my son go (the tears haven't stopped) but I also see this as the start of his future success. Thank you for sharing.
ReplyDeleteHi Nickey Lynn-
ReplyDeleteThank you for your comment. I know just how you are feeling. Sending Josh off to Wilderness was the hardest thing I've ever had to do. I am happy to report that he is doing well...A senior in college now, soon to graduate. He still has his anxieties but has learned valuable coping skills that will enable him to deal with the challenges that will inevitably come his way in life. We also now have a much healthier relationship with him as a result of the work that he and we have done while in wilderness and therapeutic boarding school. Good luck to you and your son!
I am happy to report that years of activism has closed Monarch down (and Carlbrook also). I am professional gamer and I am making good money. We Danes have some of the best gamers who can live of their hobby and tests have shown that we are fit like other professional athlets. Our goal is that E-sport will reach the Olympics at some point.
ReplyDeleteBut it has been a long road and we had to work actively against places who robs us of talents. Monarch School and Carlbrook was two of them but not all are gone. Right now we are going against Somaliland because they imprison youth who games deeming it too western. We would rather have civil war as they used to have it instead of prison-styled boarding school where they force children to read religous books (some of them are even turned into suicide bombers), so we will work actively to bring down any form of governance in that area.