Maybe I was. I believe sad/shocking/disturbing news gets more clicks than stories like mine. People read a couple bad stories of places that are unethical, and just assume they're all like that and have the pitchforks ready. Be careful about how you create bias in your head with choice-fed bits of information!

Well since you've been reading nothing but bad things about these places, let me shed light on my experience.

I was permanently kicked out of school in 8th grade for drug and alcohol issues, troubled teen stuff. Life at home wasn't good, obviously. I worked at 14 years old and was able to get into drugs and alcohol young after affording clothes and food.

I was enrolled in a school called "restart", with less than a dozen kids like me fresh out of rehab. Our principal had huge heavy rings in his ears that made his ears dangle to his shoulders. Face weathered, his voice was dry. Our teacher looked to be mid 20s, skinny cute blonde lady. She did the best she could with how intolerable and uninterested my classmates were. She had a really sweet older Hispanic assistant. Honestly I can't remember any of their names, but they all did have a great positive influence on my life at a time when it wouldn't have taken much to push me over the edge. Even my bus driver that drove me out there, 1.5 hours each way... She would pull over halfway and let me out to smoke a cigarette if we had time. She bought me a new coffee pot on my last day with her, I'll never forget that. The kindness and compassion I felt from those 4 adults in my experience in a troubled teen school saved me from being another dead junkie.