Okay... ... this needs to be done at some point... Here's the entire treatise. All punctuation and grammar are entirely his, I was meticulous.
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http://www.isaccorp.org/hyde/joegauldletter01.jpghttp://www.isaccorp.org/hyde/joegauldletter02.jpg"Isn't Hyde Ever Wrong?"A Hyde parent, upset with a Hyde decision, asks,
"Isn't Hyde ever wrong?"Of course Hyde is sometimes wrong. It is a human institution that requires the constant vigil of students, teachers and parents alike. In fact, Hyde is merely a temporary scaffolding that must be dismantled by graduation, to ensure the student is led in life by conscience and not Hyde--or even parents. If we both "let go" properly, we should be confident that conscience will only take from Hyde--and parents--what it deems worthy.
However, I think the question implies that maybe the parent and not Hyde knows better about a given situation. Maybe so, but that is dangerous ground that can ultimately lead to students dismissing all of Hyde, both bad--and good. This question simply does not respect the role Hyde is supposed to play in the family structure.
The caterpillar depends upon nature's cocoon to become a butterfly. Similarly, a child must depend upon our human cocoon to be transformed from its initial animal self into a higher human self. And the true quality of an individual's transformation is determined during childhood-adolescence; seldom if ever do we make major change in ourselves later.
Since society is presently very ignorant about this powerful truth about human growth, the human cocoons we are constructing around our children are sloppy and porous, and often compromise a child's best growth:
- Society does not realize the depth of a child's animal instincts of self-gratification and subjective fears and desires, and thus doesn't fully help the child transcend them;
- Families don't recognize their incredibly interwoven nature and how much family dynamics can compromise a child's best growth;
- Societal and family ignorance have created a huge and powerful youth culture that reaffirms children's animal instincts and resists their human transcendence.
Hyde generally deals with kids who have been unusually influenced by those three factors, and, unfortunately, at a late point in their adolescent gestation period. So to counter this, Hyde creates a very intensive growth cocoon focused on character development that seeks to help students: 1) transcend their animal instincts; 2) combat negative family dynamics, and 3) create a new youth culture committed to each student's best.
Since kids--and their parents--have been far more immersed in this counter growth culture than has Hyde, Hyde can be far more objective about how to best address the true growth needs of kids. And given the limited time available, Hyde insists on being the final judge on growth issues. We are in a better position than parents to determine a student's true best, and further we consider our commitment to help each student realize that best a sacred trust.
So--Yes, we may be wrong, and thus we appreciate all the input we can get. However in the end, we urge parents
that until graduation to defer to Hyde's judgment, not their own. To instead accept their own judgment becomes a clear statement to their children that the Hyde experience is simply an add-on to old family dynamics, and not a new beginning for the entire family.
If you are wise, you don't second-guess your doctor; you simply find another doctor. Similarly, question Hyde, but don't second-guess it, simply find another school.
Remember that Hyde is a temporary scaffolding, to be dismantled at graduation. But if you hope to help your kids internalize Hyde concepts and to develop a life-time strategy to fully make their human transformation, make sure that your leadership fully respects that scaffolding as well.
— Joe Gauld 2/27/02