Treatment Abuse, Behavior Modification, Thought Reform > Hyde Schools
Requesting Parents' Assessment of Hyde School
Anonymous:
Thank you for sharing your story, OHS1973. I think I must have been there just after you, if I remember my dates correctly. I too very much enjoyed many aspects of the summer program, and I attribute much of that with the comraderie inherent in all of the outdoor activities. But that summer was not easy for many of my classmates. I was still "under the radar" at the time, but I remember a teenager by the name of Camille, I believe, who had her head practically shaven and was on work crew constructing a new sidewalk for the new Student Union by herself. She was not an especially happy camper! And there were others, whose names escape me at the moment...
The story of Larry Pray is very haunting, and I did not know it, as I came just after. During my time, his wife, Connie, had a child... They were earnest, well-meaning people, and did not stay. An incident during my time similar to LP's involved another faculty member whose last name starts with 'W', perhaps Willworth? He also was subjected to having to stand up in front of school meeting to confess his sins, although I suspect Mr. W was a bit less fragile than LP was...
gary eskow:
My life did turn out to be good and worth living I straightened out my substance abuse problems not needing any Rehabilitation Center, I just decided enough was enough and stopped. I met the girl of my dreams have been married for over twenty years, have a wonderful son, a good job and am looking forward to the rest of my life. Funny thing is I don?t attribute much of the good part of my life to The Hyde School, I probably just needed to forgive myself, come to terms with who I am, deal with my short comings, grow up and get on with it, which was my intension from the very beginning of this long strange trip called life.
What a story, so well remembered and told. Would you like it to appear in print, under a pseudonym if necessary?
GE
Anonymous:
Old Hyde Student 1973,
I too am a Hyde graduate, broadly defined. For all the guilt you must feel, you did the honorable thing in refusing the diploma. In a topsy-turvy morality like Hyde, where children are turned into Kapos, a Hyde diploma should be deplored. I pity those students who later in life feel compelled to go back for one.
Publicly punishing offenders (for venial faults of one's past, no less) reminds me of the pillory of Puritan times. Shaving a woman's head and having her scrub streets and sidewalks, a punishment I was forced to witness a few years after you, has always reminded me of the famous photos of shaved Viennese Jewish women doing the same during the Holocaust. I am at a loss to conjure up a historical parallel for the dog collar and leash. Freezing showers and forcing one to sleep naked on a hard cold floor are torture, pure and simple. I would very much like to know what diseased imagination introduced these punishments into the Hyde disciplinary regimen. It's criminal. I wouldn't put it past Joe Gauld, but frankly, as I recall these things now from the perspectives of hindsight, my sense of disgust extends to the entire Hyde School leadership, even to those faculty members whom I once held in respect.
Hyde students, speak up! What is that school doing to you today? Have they parleyed physical abuse into less tangible, more discreet forms of emotional abuse? That appears to be the case from what I've read in these posts.
I hope that Gary, in writing up his Hyde report, consults with a professional sociologist who alone could do justice to the theme of Hyde School.
Anonymous:
--- Quote from: ""Guest"" ---Old Hyde Student 1973,
I too am a Hyde graduate, broadly defined. For all the guilt you must feel, you did the honorable thing in refusing the diploma. In a topsy-turvy morality like Hyde, where children are turned into Kapos, a Hyde diploma should be deplored. I pity those students who later in life feel compelled to go back for one.
Publicly punishing offenders (for venial faults of one's past, no less) reminds me of the pillory of Puritan times. Shaving a woman's head and having her scrub streets and sidewalks, a punishment I was forced to witness a few years after you, has always reminded me of the famous photos of shaved Viennese Jewish women doing the same during the Holocaust. I am at a loss to conjure up a historical parallel for the dog collar and leash. Freezing showers and forcing one to sleep naked on a hard cold floor are torture, pure and simple. I would very much like to know what diseased imagination introduced these punishments into the Hyde disciplinary regimen. It's criminal. I wouldn't put it past Joe Gauld, but frankly, as I recall these things now from the perspectives of hindsight, my sense of disgust extends to the entire Hyde School leadership, even to those faculty members whom I once held in respect.
Hyde students, speak up! What is that school doing to you today? Have they parleyed physical abuse into less tangible, more discreet forms of emotional abuse? That appears to be the case from what I've read in these posts.
I hope that Gary, in writing up his Hyde report, consults with a professional sociologist who alone could do justice to the theme of Hyde School.
--- End quote ---
Sad, sad, sad. My heart breaks for the poster OHS 1973. I can definitely relate to the feelings of shame you have by being a willing participant. I also feel shame, not as a student, but as a parent. My son went to Hyde in the last 1990's.
I feel shame for many reasons. I too bullied some other parents when they weren't "digging deep enough." Looking back some of these other students/parents clearly needed professional help and instead they got inexperienced fools like myself pushng them to talk about previous pain in their life. Who was I to do this? I have no experience whatsoever but somehow I got caught up in the whole Hyde thing. I cannot be mad at Hyde for this, but instead am upset with myself for being so weak that I allowed Hyde to turn me into one of their "kapo's."
Yes Hyde has changed in that they don't use dog collars or leashes anymore and the kids don't dig ditches as before, but the basics of Hyde are still the same and worse than that, the school faculty remains the same. The same Gaulds, Grants, Hurds, McMillans are all still there and these are the same people who were there in the 70's, so what does this tell you?
Thanks for sharing your story OHS 1973. This is better than seminars at Hyde because there isn't the same abuse involved while trying to get things off your chest. It feels a little better that other feel the same shame that I have been feeling for years. To those who I verbally bullied, I apologize.
I have the same question for a couple of you that someone else asked. I am curious if you found this website on your own by "googling" it or if someone guided you to it.
Anonymous:
--- Quote from: ""Guest"" ---
--- Quote from: ""Guest"" ---Old Hyde Student 1973,
I too am a Hyde graduate, broadly defined. For all the guilt you must feel, you did the honorable thing in refusing the diploma. In a topsy-turvy morality like Hyde, where children are turned into Kapos, a Hyde diploma should be deplored. I pity those students who later in life feel compelled to go back for one.
Publicly punishing offenders (for venial faults of one's past, no less) reminds me of the pillory of Puritan times. Shaving a woman's head and having her scrub streets and sidewalks, a punishment I was forced to witness a few years after you, has always reminded me of the famous photos of shaved Viennese Jewish women doing the same during the Holocaust. I am at a loss to conjure up a historical parallel for the dog collar and leash. Freezing showers and forcing one to sleep naked on a hard cold floor are torture, pure and simple. I would very much like to know what diseased imagination introduced these punishments into the Hyde disciplinary regimen. It's criminal. I wouldn't put it past Joe Gauld, but frankly, as I recall these things now from the perspectives of hindsight, my sense of disgust extends to the entire Hyde School leadership, even to those faculty members whom I once held in respect.
Hyde students, speak up! What is that school doing to you today? Have they parleyed physical abuse into less tangible, more discreet forms of emotional abuse? That appears to be the case from what I've read in these posts.
I hope that Gary, in writing up his Hyde report, consults with a professional sociologist who alone could do justice to the theme of Hyde School.
--- End quote ---
Sad, sad, sad. My heart breaks for the poster OHS 1973. I can definitely relate to the feelings of shame you have by being a willing participant. I also feel shame, not as a student, but as a parent. My son went to Hyde in the last 1990's.
I feel shame for many reasons. I too bullied some other parents when they weren't "digging deep enough." Looking back some of these other students/parents clearly needed professional help and instead they got inexperienced fools like myself pushng them to talk about previous pain in their life. Who was I to do this? I have no experience whatsoever but somehow I got caught up in the whole Hyde thing. I cannot be mad at Hyde for this, but instead am upset with myself for being so weak that I allowed Hyde to turn me into one of their "kapo's."
Yes Hyde has changed in that they don't use dog collars or leashes anymore and the kids don't dig ditches as before, but the basics of Hyde are still the same and worse than that, the school faculty remains the same. The same Gaulds, Grants, Hurds, McMillans are all still there and these are the same people who were there in the 70's, so what does this tell you?
Thanks for sharing your story OHS 1973. This is better than seminars at Hyde because there isn't the same abuse involved while trying to get things off your chest. It feels a little better that other feel the same shame that I have been feeling for years. To those who I verbally bullied, I apologize.
I have the same question for a couple of you that someone else asked. I am curious if you found this website on your own by "googling" it or if someone guided you to it.
--- End quote ---
I know some of the people that have gone back to get a Hyde diploma. I can understand why they want to do so. It is very difficult to walk out of a place that that dominates your sense of self worth and not be acknowledged. There is a need for resolution or closure.
I was invited to go thru the process. I have elected to decline the offer. My sense is that it would be a diminution of self, in my case, to use Hyde as an external validation source. That is just because of the way I view Hyde at this point. I have come to this point after several impulses to do so.
I have a great deal of repsect for some of the people elect to get the diploma. I was very happy to see Joan G. do so.
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