thoughts about hyde

[Anonymous]

Duncan McCrann, who was head of school at Hyde Woodstock, is no longer in that position.  Does anyone know why?

He "supposedly" wanted to do what he loves, go back to teaching.  How come Hyde is not honest about the real reason he left the same way they teach the students to be honest?  Part of the hypocricy of Hyde.  Obviously things were not working out well for Duncan in the position he was in and the Gaulds wanted to make a change.  Then again, could it be that word got around about his son being sodomized on the Bath Campus?

I hadn't heard that his son was assaulted at Hyde.  By another student?.  Is that fact or rumor?

[Anonymous]

It was several male students and call it rumor or fact, but the information came directly from the victim. it was no secret on either campus.

[Anonymous]

It was several male students and call it rumor or fact, but the information came directly from the victim. it was no secret on either campus.
[/quote]

Well... I sure as hell wouldn't want anything more to do with such a "school" if that happened to MY son... JEEESH!!!    :flame:

[Anonymous]

Needs repeating.  

as a surviver of the hyde instsitutition, i feel like i need to say something about my experience here. i graduated hyde last year, in 06, and i was never as troubled or "off track" when i was not at school. parents, teachers, doctors, all cannot figure out what is wrong. being told what to look like, who to associate with, what i can and cant put into my body, these things were never questioned. But when i was free of the institution, everything started to feel better.
Joseph W. Gauld, one of three founders of the hyde school, is an interesting person. the only time i ever talked to him face to face, it was in a conferance with my parents. my parents weekend was not going well because i insisted that i change schools, which is not accepted. he yelled at me and told my father to "kick him out, and spray him with a hose when he's comes back to your porch." he was the angriest person in the room, besides me. i read some of his essays from the 1970s, in a collection called "the courage to grow." he examines such relevant topics as weather it is ok to beat your kids, or if blacks and whites are intellectually equal. he states that black men are superior in areas such as music and expression but do not have the intellegence to succeed academically. people that i have brought this up with respond with the fact that he wrote it 35 years ago. fuck that. how this racist, hateful, child-smacking asshole is allowed to educate children is way beyond me.  
i saw a lot of changes in the four years i was forced to spend at hyde. one thing that did not change was that every year a large majority of students were "ethically dishonest." it is easy to see through people when they only do the bare minimum to keep up apperiances. the morals and ideals of the five words and principals  are great. i can't argue that "courage" is a bad thing, but the inability to act and think for myself is not the way i am going to use it. it is very striking to me the contrast between the wholesome and ethical image projected by the leadership of hyde and the utter unprofessionalism of the faculty. during my time at hyde bath, not only was i battered by the ex-dean without provocation, but a student at the school was molested by a teacher. the hyde school did not follow up on the case legally. recently i learned that a teacher at the bath campus had sex with a newly graduated student, and returned to work the following year only to leave after it came out. i have heard similar allegations of abuse and misconduct at the Woodstock campus, but have no direct evidence to confirm them. the fact is, hyde is cashing in on your insecurities. the sooner these people are exposed the better.

[Anonymous]

Also needs repeating...no one has an exclusive right to judgement...

excuse me for the informal writing, it's 3:30 in the morning, so bear with me...i'm going to be a senior and it's going to be my 4th year. i have seen good and bad. good from hyde's perspective and good that hyde hasn't recognized. the sterotypical "tool"(what most kids would call the 100% good guys are the ones Hyde will usually praise, yes, and still challenge. i've seen a kid i went to summer challenge with eventually graduate dirty. yes. but I was able to see the IMMENSE positive change he made. he realized to take his life seriously. M.D. was the classic "bad boy" and still looks like the really cool really tough guy. but he's a good kid now. he always was, but he learned some responsibility. for him, that's really all he needed. i've seen "bad" kids come in, refuse; and then refuse a year and a half into it. those kids are a waste of our time, the parents' money. i've seen good kids, such as myself, who've never done anything bad, learn to be less oblivious and also learn that not all of the current youth culture's bad. like, that drinking a little at a party isn't nearly the end of the world. i've gotten a lot out of hyde cuz i put a lot of faith and trust into it. granted, i DID NOT wanna be there during SC '03 and the beginning of freshman year. but i see that hyde is a place to develop yourself, but whatever it needs to be. not necessarily what hyde thinks it should be. whether or not hyde recognizes that you accomplished something doesn't matter. YES THERE ARE FLAWS! but nothing's perfect. i see that there IS a business perspective; hey, someone's gotta pay the bills to keep the place actually open. i worked in the admissions office for three weeks this summer...i noticed we, at least the woodstock campus, has begun to be more selective and not letting people who aren't ready for us in. which is good. i encourage you look at the school, regardless of the stories, it really depends on your kid. maybe he/she needs something more extreme. like elan, or family foundation(although, they may wanna kill themselves after F.F.). or wilderness. or rehab. hyde is a GREAT transition school from one of those, because they are 1) more willing to go to something less strict and 2) if they did the other program right, then they'll be more willing to continue the change they've been making. it's TOTALLY TRUE that hyde's NOT FOR EVERYONE. but you never know till you at least look. but i know that the common thing with teens today is lack of self-confidence, self-worth, or immaturity. usually a good combination. i was all three. what keeps me coming back are the PEOPLE and the staff. so i'm really tired, but PLEASE, if you have any questions, i'll answer them. i see myself as a completely neutral, seeing as i see them all from both sides. My name is Billy Procida...my email address is wprocida@hyde.edu. And good luck with however YOU raise your children. but it's late, and i gotta sleep

[Anne Bonney]

Also needs repeating...no one has an exclusive right to judgement...

Since you've been there and I haven't, what are your thoughts on daedalus' experience?

[Anonymous]

Also needs repeating...no one has an exclusive right to judgement...

Since you've been there and I haven't, what are your thoughts on daedalus' experience?

First of all, Daedalus said he just graduated in 2006. In 10-15 years, his views may change from those of a young, angry kid, who obviously still has some issues. He may come to appreciate some of the things he learned (or resisted learning) at Hyde. Second, he misrepresents and distorts some of the things he says (of which I know firsthand) which causes me to question the rest of what he says that I don't know firsthand. Always question someone who has an agenda, as I'm sure you will question what I say Bonney... my thoughts on this subject.

[Anne Bonney]

So then, please.  By all means enlighten us.  Tell us how Hyde works and how it changes these kids.  What's so different and special about Hyde that makes it work?  What are the good things about Hyde that you see and the bad?

[gary eskow]

Some interesting thoughts here, balanced and without rancor.  Our family was at Hyde for a year and several months, until I was thrown out of the program and the rest of the family decided, given that fact, that it didn't make any sense for them to continue.

I wrote up an account of my experience.  Anyone interested in reading "The Jekyll Side Of Hyde," can e-mail me.

Gary Eskow
www.garyeskow.com

[Anonymous]

Some interesting thoughts here, balanced and without rancor.  Our family was at Hyde for a year and several months, until I was thrown out of the program and the rest of the family decided, given that fact, that it didn't make any sense for them to continue.

I wrote up an account of my experience.  Anyone interested in reading "The Jekyll Side Of Hyde," can e-mail me.

Gary Eskow
www.garyeskow.com

Your account of your Hyde experience is very illuminating.  Is your Hyde experience typical, from what you can tell?  My family and I have considered Hyde.  What you have to say is very troubling.

 Given what you have to say, would you advise parents to stay away from Hyde?  

I also wonder whether the controversy related to Hyde threatens its future.  Are they now having enrollment problems?

[gary eskow]

Your account of your Hyde experience is very illuminating.  Is your Hyde experience typical, from what you can tell?  My family and I have considered Hyde.  What you have to say is very troubling.

 Given what you have to say, would you advise parents to stay away from Hyde?  

I also wonder whether the controversy related to Hyde threatens its future.  Are they now having enrollment problems?

----

Did you read my report? Where did you see it?

I would not advise parents to eliminate Hyde from consideration, but would recommend caution.  Without question there are students and families who have grown in this environment.  Generally, these are students without serious emotional or medical problems who need some guidance and are not particularly rebellious.

Fundamentally, my Hyde experience mirrors the stories of many students regarding the hypocrisy that is practiced there.  That Mr. Gauld is allowed to behave in the most startling manner and repeatedly break the most fundamental "principles"of Hyde- and the mandates of common decency- without being challenged by any staff member, encourages the rest of the faculty to behave in a similar manner.  This brings some real problems, the main one being that the kids see this duplicity- absolutely, for sure.  Many, many of them told me so during my time at the school.  As a result, some of the positive lessons that are being taught, often by caring but inexperienced personnel- but also by some nut cases who have worked their way into the system- are lost.

With regard to the school's finacial situation, I have no information on the state of their funding, or financial health.

[Anonymous]

Your account of your Hyde experience is very illuminating.  Is your Hyde experience typical, from what you can tell?  My family and I have considered Hyde.  What you have to say is very troubling.

 Given what you have to say, would you advise parents to stay away from Hyde?  

I also wonder whether the controversy related to Hyde threatens its future.  Are they now having enrollment problems?

----

Did you read my report? Where did you see it?

I would not advise parents to eliminate Hyde from consideration, but would recommend caution.  Without question there are students and families who have grown in this environment.  Generally, these are students without serious emotional or medical problems who need some guidance and are not particularly rebellious.

Fundamentally, my Hyde experience mirrors the stories of many students regarding the hypocrisy that is practiced there.  That Mr. Gauld is allowed to behave in the most startling manner and repeatedly break the most fundamental "principles"of Hyde- and the mandates of common decency- without being challenged by any staff member, encourages the rest of the faculty to behave in a similar manner.  This brings some real problems, the main one being that the kids see this duplicity- absolutely, for sure.  Many, many of them told me so during my time at the school.  As a result, some of the positive lessons that are being taught, often by caring but inexperienced personnel- but also by some nut cases who have worked their way into the system- are lost.

With regard to the school's finacial situation, I have no information on the state of their funding, or financial health.

What you say makes sense to me, that the basic concept behind Hyde is admirable.  But from everything I've heard, Hyde's implementation leaves a lot to be desired.  I've spoken to lots of people who know about Hyde from personal experience.  There's a clear pattern in their comments:  The model sounds good but there are too many Hyde staff who are emotionally immature, power control freaks, and insensitive to many students' serious emotional problems.  Also, Joe Gauld's name keeps coming up as a sad example of someone who is so caught up in his own consuming needs that he ends up serving as a terrible and hypocritical role model for students.

You asked where I read your account of Hyde.  A friend told me about it after she saw it on a web site called the Isac Corp. (which monitors schools and programs for troubled teens where there apparently have been problems):

Here is your account on that web site: http://www.isaccorp.org/hyde/eskowstatement.pdf

This web site includes a lot of information that is very critical of Hyde: http://www.isaccorp.org/documentsam.asp#hyde

What do you know about this web site?

[gary eskow]

"What you say makes sense to me, that the basic concept behind Hyde is admirable.  But from everything I've heard, Hyde's implementation leaves a lot to be desired.  I've spoken to lots of people who know about Hyde from personal experience.  There's a clear pattern in their comments:  The model sounds good but there are too many Hyde staff who are emotionally immature, power control freaks, and insensitive to many students' serious emotional problems.  Also, Joe Gauld's name keeps coming up as a sad example of someone who is so caught up in his own consuming needs that he ends up serving as a terrible and hypocritical role model for students.

You asked where I read your account of Hyde.  A friend told me about it after she saw it on a web site called the Isac Corp. (which monitors schools and programs for troubled teens where there apparently have been problems)"

I would agree completely with the information about Hyde you've heard from others.  In all fairness, families in crisis don't always have the time (or energy) to research these schools fully- and let's be honest, there might not be a perfect place for some kids.  But without question Joe Gauld is a deeply disturbed guy who was once booted from Hyde himself by the school board.  Sadly, the school would have been better off if he had never been allowed to return.

I was contacted by Isac, had a good chat with the site's leader, and allowed my account to be posted there. That's all I know about them.

If you are considering sending your child to a boarding school, I certainly hope that you all are doing well and are comfortable with the advice you are being given.

[daedalus]

Also needs repeating...no one has an exclusive right to judgement...

Since you've been there and I haven't, what are your thoughts on daedalus' experience?

First of all, Daedalus said he just graduated in 2006. In 10-15 years, his views may change from those of a young, angry kid, who obviously still has some issues. He may come to appreciate some of the things he learned (or resisted learning) at Hyde. Second, he misrepresents and distorts some of the things he says (of which I know firsthand) which causes me to question the rest of what he says that I don't know firsthand. Always question someone who has an agenda, as I'm sure you will question what I say Bonney... my thoughts on this subject.

i am challanging you and what you posted about my experience at hyde.
please elaborate SPECIFICALLY about what i distorted or exaggerated.

your assumption is that because i recently graduated and left with a dissenting openion i am still struggling with misguided anger and what you call 'issues', although you cant say what. your narrow mindedness and inability to consider alternatives to what you believe in is disgusting and traagically typical. i have problems. and so do you. we might handle them in different ways, but you dont know me, and trying to project a complete strangers feelings 15 years into the future is beyond stupid. you dont know shit about my perspecive, and i dont care where youve been. i will not change my openion, for one simple reason: i dont need a moral authority to help me be my best.

if you are a parent considering hyde, read this persons comment and sit quietly for a few minutes and think about this method of reasoning. now imagine it being implemented on an institutional level in some very formative years of your childs life. frightening.

oh yeah. guest, if you are reading this: please, sterilize yourself. in saying this i get that much closer to everything i am protesting, but screw it. you should not be allowed to raise hamsters let alone a human being

 

if you are considering hyde

[daedalus]

dis regard that last little snippet at the end.  its a typo