Treatment Abuse, Behavior Modification, Thought Reform > Hyde Schools
Joey brings the Hoffman Quadrinity Process to Hyde
Ursus:
Okay... Here's the third and final post of Ken Ireland's Buddha, S.J. blog entries from June 29, 2008. Note that he does not mention the Hoffman Process by name. I think that's 'cause he is concerned about getting sued. He did mention threat of similar nature from Bob Hoffman himself in the past. While Bob Hoffman is now deceased, this does perhaps provide "food for thought" re. the nature of the current administrators of the Hoffman Institute...
To the savvy reader, keep this in mind:
1.) These three posts were culled from previously posted material for the avowed express purpose of posting all Bob Hoffman and Hoffman Process material in one place.2.) These three posts were all posted within minutes of one another on the same day.3.) There were NO other posts on Ken Ireland's blog "Buddha, S.J." within a month and a half of, before or after, the publication of these three posts.[/list]
I think it's pretty safe to assume that the following post specifically delves into particulars re. those "scientific studies" the Hoffman Institute displays so proudly, as proof of The Process's "efficacy," on their website...
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Sunday, June 29, 2008
Science vs. Spooks
Skepticism, scientific research and the Nostradamus effect
In this odd corner of the world, California, some people are interested in the changing nature of mind, emotions, personality. In certain quarters, it is believed that the uniquely western contribution to "spiritual" efforts will be the addition of scientific investigation. Perhaps this is a new chapter of the old science vs religion debate; perhaps it is a new path to understanding. I have a slightly different take on some related questions which I'm calling, Science vs. Spooks. It has to do with the prejudice of those who sponsor the research. More precisely: who's buying and why and what does this have to do with science?
The Institute of Neotic Sciences was born from the odd mixture of new age personal growth techniques and a deeply powerful personal, transforming experience. The astronaut Edgar Mitchell on his voyage to Moon during the Apollo project, had what had to be a deep, profound kensho in the most unique of circumstances. This is the second hand version of the story I heard. He was doing a space walk to check things out before the capsule fired off on its return to earth. He was, and perhaps still is, a very technical kind of guy, a total professional, running down the check list transmitted to him from NASA command. There was a momentary lapse in the transmission just as the capsule emerged from the dark side of the moon. With nothing to do for 30 seconds or so, but his concentration still entirely focused, Edgar looked up as the earth rose above the moon's horizon, and the whole universe opened up for him. Yeah, POW. Wish I'd been there.
Mitchell returns to earth a changed man and starts off on a personal quest. I have never talked to him, and can't read his mind, but perhaps he wanted to try to figure what that experience was all about, and also, perhaps, ways for others to have that experience which might drastically alter the way we live on earth.
Enter Michael Murphy and Esalen, the new age, meditation, psycho-spiritual center. In the 70's, Esalen (which is located in one of the most beautiful settings California has to offer) was a kind of supermarket of meditation-altered-state-spiritual experience. Mitchell becomes a regular, and Esalen becomes a model for the Institute of Neotic Sciences. Some of the best minds in the West, highly trained professionals who were also seekers, along with a good dose of quacks and kooks, used it as their laboratory. It was an exciting time and place. I was among the second generation of seekers to sample the feast - mostly through Claudio Naranjo's SAT which was born during the first Arica training with Oscar Ischazo that 40 or so Esalen 'members' attended (that is a loose term, they were mostly just regular participants in Esalen workshops and seminars plus a few luminaries).
Sometime around the mid to late 70's, at least this is how I see it, three things began to happen: first there was a straight forward attempt to use standard tests, psychological and medical, to measure the effects of meditation. The work of the Institute of Noetic Sciences has been a leader in this area and its contribution impressive. The second objective is quite close to the first, standard psychological instruments began to be used to see if there were measurable changes in persons who did the various workshops and trainings: if people reported beneficial results, to see if they were real change that lasted, or if it was just a kind of workshop high.
And the third thing, and here I have to be very careful because what I have to say is just my judgment though based on real experience, the producers of the various trainings and workshops wanted to show positive scientific results as part of their marketing. Most were connected to the world of psychology, some professionals and some who had transformative experiences and wanted to present them to a larger audience. Of course, money was required to support these projects. If you would like to see who some of these people are, simply look at the associate faculty of the Institute of Noetic Sciences. It is an odd assortment of practitioners, luminaries and aspiring luminaries.
I worked on staff at two Easlen type human potential companies, and I watched scientific studies as they were undertaken in both companies. In a small way, I participated in the creation and execution of one.
Here's the scenario: The company finds the money to finance the study, just as drug companies do when they are testing their products. Then someone, in the case I know best it was a PhD psychologist on staff, shops around university graduate psychology departments for some professors willing to design and execute a study. There are the usual requirements to insure that the results are completely impartial and not stacked. Both what is to be measured, and what instruments will be designed for measurement and assessment of results are negotiated and agreed on. The size of the sample and a time table are set. A fee is paid. There is also a promise to have the results, if they are positive, published in a professional peer reviewed journal.
However, there are three areas where there was participation (and revision) skew the 'objective science' behind the 'result.' I was one of several people who pre-tested the instrument that was designed. The researchers were looking for the positive psychological results some people reported and determine if they were lasting. As a 'graduate' of the course, I was given a questionnaire that the researchers had designed to measure certain psychological results. But then, through the in house psychologist, there were 'adjustments' in what was measured (most I suspect, with an eye to using the results for marketing). Then the testing began. At some point, perhaps three months into the process, I heard that people in the company were calling participants to make sure that they completed their questionnaires. (I actually overheard some phone calls though I was not asked to make any). Though this is probably not completely unethical within the agreed upon conditions of impartiality, it seems to me that if I did not feel strongly enough to send my report back to the psychologists, that would effect the statistical evaluation. I did not heard any coercion in the phone calls other than to complete the questionnaire. There were however, other 'support' calls to graduates at specific intervals. Now if I got a support call, reinforcing my experience, and then, a few weeks later, another making sure I completed a questionnaire for the study, well, you get the picture.
And the final area of manipulation of the results is their publication. And this is the most flagrant. Although the researchers themselves wrote up the results of their study and submitted it to professional journals, perhaps even a presentation at some conference (I left the company before it was complete), there were interim reports: you know, "After six months, participants report more confident and loving conversations with their spouses and children." That first report, an assessment of the initial data, was written by the in-house psychologist and given to the president. The president claimed that there was just too much scientific jargon. In reality it was not the overwhelming positive result expected. I actually stood by his desk as he reworked every sentence, every word or phrase that seemed too guarded, and changed them, asking us as witnesses, "I don't think it should say that, this (his powerful punched phrase) says the same thing, doesn't it?" When I asked the psychologist himself about the revisions, he was pretty non-committal, "I suppose that could be said about X," and turned the conversation to his new home in the foothills.
There is nothing criminal or terribly important in this manipulation of scientific inquiry - the drug companies do it all the time and we pay for it - but it shows, I think, the limitations of scientific research in the real world.
What has this to do with our old friend Nostradamus? Did that phrase about the two giants collapsing or whatever, really 'foretell' the attack on the World Trade Center towers? I bet we could find some rich paranormal enthusiasts to fund a study that proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that a certain percentage of the American public, after hearing those sentences read to them in a scripted phone survey, will agree that Nostradamus did really predict 9/11. It is one way to defend against the terror of the unpredictable.
I remain skeptical.
Posted by tellall at 1:32 PM
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Anonymous:
I see Joe has graduated from chewing on tennis balls, to beating pillows with a baseball bat.
Anonymous:
--- Quote from: "Dr Temper" ---I see Joe has graduated from chewing on tennis balls, to beating pillows with a baseball bat.
--- End quote ---
not slapping students in the face these days? ................................. :twofinger:
Anonymous:
"He who passively accepts evil is as much involved in it as he who helps to perpetrate it. He who accepts evil without protesting against it is really cooperating with it."
--Martin Luther King, Jr.
Ursus:
Light News · Spring/Summer 2009
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Meet Joey Gauld, Visionary Educator and Founder of the Hyde School
Teaching A New Way To Educate
- A Discussion with Joey Gauld, the Visionary Founder of the Hyde School -
by Ellie Weiser
The Hyde School was founded in 1966 by Joey Gauld, a former math teacher and school administrator who was interested in providing a better preparation for life based on the belief that each student is gifted with a unique potential, supported by a curriculum of character development and college placement.
The Hyde School approach to education has continued to develop and thrive under the leadership of Joey Gauld, who completed the Hoffman Process in 2007 at age 80.
Joey, a published author, consultant and a keynote speaker, recently spoke with Hoffman's Ellie Weiser about his life's work and the Hoffman / Hyde connection.
For more information on the Hyde School, please visit http://www.hyde.edu.
ELLIE: In searching for a better way to educate American youth, you founded the Hyde Schools, of which there are now five. How did your vision for the Hyde Schools come to be?
JOEY: It came from a crisis of conscience I had at a New Year's Eve party in 1962, when I realized that as a teacher I was part of an educational system that was failing kids. At first I felt like my hands were tied, but I realized that if those kids weren't my responsibility, just whose were they? After reflecting I went back to the party knowing that my life was never going to be the same.
ELLIE: Changing the American educational system is an ambitious New Years resolution. Why couldn't you bring your changes to the existing system?
JOEY: After 16 years of teaching, I became a Headmaster. In my first year I realized that I was envisioning change that went beyond what the trustees of the school could accept. In order to make the kind of changes that were needed, I would have to start my own school. That's what led me to found the Hyde School.
ELLIE: How do Hyde Schools differ from traditional schools?
JOEY: Traditional schools focus on measurable academic achievement to the exclusion of other important values. They focus on what a student can do, while Hyde looks at who a student is. We approach every student knowing that he or she has a unique potential, and our job is to draw that potential out. The development of character prepares kids for life, which includes further academic achievement.
ELLIE: Why do you stress character as a core value at Hyde?
JOEY: After teaching for 16 years, I knew that preparing kids for life involved much more than getting them ready for college. I felt that if you could develop character you would prepare them for life, so I picked five words: courage, integrity, concern, curiosity and leadership. I didn't know whether you could actually develop those concepts in kids but I was confident that it would lead me to something that could.
ELLIE: While Hyde stresses character development above academic achievement, 98 percent of Hyde graduates go on to four-year colleges. What's the key to your success?
JOEY: We reach the deeper motivation in kids by having them address the deeper questions: 'who am I?' 'where am I going with my life?,' 'what do I need to do to get there?' Once you find a kid's deeper motivation, then you can talk about college and other things that traditional schools introduce.
ELLIE: Hyde Schools insist on parent involvement. Like the Hoffman Process, you attribute much to a person's early life conditioning.
JOEY: That's right. Getting to the deeper level of a kid's character and unique potential is largely dependent on how well you get to the parents. Initially that was a depressing realization because I understand kids, but the parents are a different story. So, in 1974 I said to the parents "we're going to help you raise your kids," and in so doing I began to focus on two things: parental growth and family issues.
ELLIE: Your theory is similar to Bob Hoffman's.
JOEY: Well, involving Hyde parents is what ultimately led me to learn more about Hoffman because the Institute had worked more extensively with delving into childhood patterns than we had.
ELLIE: You're changing the ways families approach education, but it sounds like it's not only the educational system that's struggling, but the families themselves.
JOEY: They're intertwined. Our society has never even considered the concept of parent and family education. Family support and parent training have gotten worse and over the years, and that's where our problem lies now. That's been my primary focus since 1974, and it's been hugely rewarding. My 1962 commitment was to all kids, and our family program gives me a chance to reach some kids I missed—parents!
ELLIE: Hyde Schools recognize that we can't run schools as we did in the past; that it's a different world.
JOEY: Society has changed immensely but we're still doing education the way we did in colonial days.
ELLIE: How did you learn of the Hoffman Process?
JOEY: Someone mentioned it to me, and when I read the Negative Love Syndrome I was fascinated by what Bob Hoffman had discovered, because it was very in keeping with what I discovered in my years at Hyde.
ELLIE: What inspired you to sign up?
JOEY: My daughter Gigi attended before I did. When she came back I saw big changes in her – she learned to appreciate and love herself. In 2007 I felt that I hadn't made much of a dent in changing American education, but I saw that there were still unrecognized attitudes in me that I needed to change. As Gandhi said, "Be the change you want to see in the world." So on my 80th birthday I signed up for the Process.
ELLIE: What did you get from the Process?
JOEY: While there I was called by my childhood name, which is Joey. As an adult I've only been known as Joe, so being called Joey was jarring because Joey was a very impotent little kid. He was a dreamer that nobody listened to. The Process helped me know that I lived with attitudes of anger, impatience and frustration, which were re-triggered in my adult self because nobody listened to Joey.
ELLIE: Did you make friends with Joey through your work at the Process?
JOEY: At the end of the eight days I loved being Joey – I even insisted that everybody at home call me Joey! I've written an autobiography about my life and about Joey, because he was the one who founded those schools. Joe was the hard driver, but the Spirit, the dreamer, is Joey.
ELLIE: How did your Process experience change your relationships with your kids?
JOEY: I have three adult children. After the Process I experienced a beautiful new depth with each. My daughter Laurie put it well: "Dad, you thought you were open before, but after the Process you were less uptight and more serene – then you really opened." That was another one of the many gifts.
ELLIE: To date more than 40 Hyde parents, faculty and teachers have completed the Process. How has this much involvement changed the Hyde Schools?
JOEY: I call the Hoffman Process "Hyde Heavy" because in a school we can't go as deep as the Process does, though I attempt to in my seminars with parents. More Hyde parents need to understand themselves at the level that Process graduates do. As more people complete the Process, communication, commitment, authenticity – everything improves.
ELLIE: This August an unprecedented event will happen – the Hoffman Process will be presented at the Hyde School in Maine.
JOEY: Yes! The Process will come to our campus in Bath, where administrators, teachers and parents from both our boarding schools and public charter schools will participate.
ELLIE: What do you hope to accomplish by bringing the Process to Hyde?
JOEY: As a person goes through the Process and deals with the Negative Love Syndrome, what we at Hyde call, "unproductive emotional dispositions," they go through a profound personal transformation. Step one is having each person transform themselves. Step two is having these teachers, administrators and parents share what they've learned and help others as they've been helped. We also plan to implement some of the things we learn at the Process into our programs. For example, we'll give a list of attitudes to the kids and we'll have them check off their attitudes, the attitudes of their mother, and those of their father.
ELLIE: It's the start of pattern tracing.
JOEY: We want kids to know the difference between attitudes they have, and emotional dispositions. When they know the difference they'll see that something deeper happened in the home that they didn't cause, which helped shape their emotional dispositions. Kids need to understand what Bob Hoffman meant when he said “No one is to blame."
ELLIE: As of today there are two Hyde boarding schools and three Hyde charter schools. Where are they located and how do they differ?
JOEY: The charter schools are located in the inner cities of New Haven, CT, South Bronx, NY and Washington, DC. They go from grammar through high school grades and are college preparatory schools. The two private boarding schools are located in Bath, Maine and Woodstock, CT. They are high schools with college prep curriculums.
ELLIE: With the charter schools you've essentially gone into tough inner cities to transform the way schools are run.
JOEY: A charter school is a public school that operates like an independent school. You submit a charter describing the proposed school, and if the charter is accepted by the public authority, then you open and operate the school. It's funded the same way any public school is with the proviso that it must work. If the school's test scores aren't good, the school will be closed.
ELLIE: Are the Hyde charter schools in high-demand?
JOEY: We have to accept students by lottery because the demand is that high. Our Bronx school has a current waiting list of 400 kids. The need in inner cities for schools like ours is great.
ELLIE: Will you expand Hyde charter schools into other states?
JOEY: We're now creating a cluster of five charter schools in New York City, with classes beginning in 2010. We also expect to open a charter school in Orlando, Florida.
ELLIE: Do inner-city parents understand what the Hyde program is trying to accomplish?
JOEY: Yes! Yesterday I spoke with parents in the South Bronx. These people live in one of the poorest areas in New York City and there is a lot of dysfunction in their families. When I talk with any of our parents, I tell them about the Negative Love Syndrome and I explain that no one is to blame. I say, "It's a step in the right direction for you to realize that what's happening is not something you caused or even something that your parents caused. This is something that's been passed down. This is not you." A parent said to me afterwards with tears in his eyes, "Thanks for bringing us hope."
ELLIE: What's your vision for the future?
JOEY: I will continue to bring the understanding to our society that the biggest problem we have is an abundance of adverse childhood experiences that we as a whole haven't learned to deal with. With Raz's (Raz Ingrasci, Hoffman's CEO) support, I'm writing a book that I hope will finally make our society aware of how much of the imperfections we experience in life stem from the unaddressed negatives in our childhood -- negatives that Hoffman and Hyde are trying to address.
ELLIE: Joey, the work you do is extraordinary, and there are thousands of students and parents who've benefited from your vision all those years ago. Do you have any final words to share with the Hoffman community?
JOEY: I'm very grateful to Hoffman because it was at the Process that I learned that I was first and foremost a warm and compassionate person whose spirit was determined to create a better world for kids, and I still am! After 80 years it was Joey, the real me who finally emerged!
Hoffman Institute Foundation • 1299 Fourth St., Suite 304 • San Rafael, CA 94901 • 800-506-5253
fax 415-485-5539 • email: http://www.hoffmaninstitute.org
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