Fornits
Treatment Abuse, Behavior Modification, Thought Reform => Hyde Schools => Topic started by: Anonymous on August 29, 2006, 03:48:11 AM
-
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 :)
-
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 :)
Thanks for your comments. I'm glad to know things have worked out well for you at Hyde. Also, I appreciate your willingness to answer questions about Hyde. Since you were asked to work in the admissions office I imagine you're one of the "on track" kids at Hyde who has invested himself. That's great that Hyde was comfortable having you meet parents and students, show them around, etc.. When I was at Hyde I definitely saw some kids who were like you, but not too many..
I also saw the "other" side of Hyde. I met many students who, in my opinion, never should have gone to Hyde and were often "off track," on 2-4, sent to outpost, ran away, etc.. They had serious psychiatric problems or drug/alc problems, but Hyde took them anyway. I definitely met students there who needed treatment, not Hyde. I could never understand why Hyde acceptd these students when it didn't have anyone on staff to counsel them.
I now get questions from parents who are thinking about Hyde and know I was there. In my honest opinion, the good at Hyde (which you experienced and benefited from) does not outweigh the bad. I tell parents they should look for a school that cares about values, character, and all the good stuff, but that doesn't have Hyde's problems. Hyde tells everyone it's about character education, which is true. Character education the way Hyde does it seems to work for a certain kind of student (you seem to be an example), but it seems to fail with many students because they need something real different from what Hyde offers (usually related to their mental health/drug/alc problems).
I also had a big problem with some of the seminars, which seemed an awful lot like group therapy at times. What bothered me is that it wasn't unusual for people to "break down" in those groups or "lose it," but no one with professional training was there to handle that stuff. I saw some really bad incidents.
Here are my questions for you:
* How many of students were in your entering class (2003)? How many graduated?
* How has Hyde changed its admission standards? You said they're being more selective. How?
* What percentage of Hyde's current students seem to have pretty serious mental health/psychiatric problems? Drug/alc problems? Has that changed since you started at Hyde?
* Did you witness any bad incidents in seminars (FLCs) or was it all good? Did you think the staff had the proper training to handle those groups, especially when things got real intense?
* How much turnover is there with teachers these days? When I was at Hyde the turnover was real high.
* Is Joe Gauld still very involved? What's your experience with him?
Thanks for posting.
-
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 :)
Thanks for your comments. I'm glad to know things have worked out well for you at Hyde. Also, I appreciate your willingness to answer questions about Hyde. Since you were asked to work in the admissions office I imagine you're one of the "on track" kids at Hyde who has invested himself. That's great that Hyde was comfortable having you meet parents and students, show them around, etc.. When I was at Hyde I definitely saw some kids who were like you, but not too many..
I also saw the "other" side of Hyde. I met many students who, in my opinion, never should have gone to Hyde and were often "off track," on 2-4, sent to outpost, ran away, etc.. They had serious psychiatric problems or drug/alc problems, but Hyde took them anyway. I definitely met students there who needed treatment, not Hyde. I could never understand why Hyde acceptd these students when it didn't have anyone on staff to counsel them.
I now get questions from parents who are thinking about Hyde and know I was there. In my honest opinion, the good at Hyde (which you experienced and benefited from) does not outweigh the bad. I tell parents they should look for a school that cares about values, character, and all the good stuff, but that doesn't have Hyde's problems. Hyde tells everyone it's about character education, which is true. Character education the way Hyde does it seems to work for a certain kind of student (you seem to be an example), but it seems to fail with many students because they need something real different from what Hyde offers (usually related to their mental health/drug/alc problems).
I also had a big problem with some of the seminars, which seemed an awful lot like group therapy at times. What bothered me is that it wasn't unusual for people to "break down" in those groups or "lose it," but no one with professional training was there to handle that stuff. I saw some really bad incidents.
Here are my questions for you:
* How many of students were in your entering class (2003)? How many graduated?
* How has Hyde changed its admission standards? You said they're being more selective. How?
* What percentage of Hyde's current students seem to have pretty serious mental health/psychiatric problems? Drug/alc problems? Has that changed since you started at Hyde?
* Did you witness any bad incidents in seminars (FLCs) or was it all good? Did you think the staff had the proper training to handle those groups, especially when things got real intense?
* How much turnover is there with teachers these days? When I was at Hyde the turnover was real high.
* Is Joe Gauld still very involved? What's your experience with him?
Thanks for posting.
Mr. Procida--A couple of days ago one of the people who posts on this board asked you some questions about Hyde. I would appreciate your answers.
-
I also wonder if this boy is really a student at Hyde. What is he doing up at 3:30 in the AM?
-
Note the part, "those kids are a waste of OUR time." Could this be a staff member posting and not a student?
-
I guess anyone who posts on this board and doesn't trash Hyde must work for them or be a fake. And why can't they answer my barrage of questions and requests for data? Everyone who truly had anything to do with Hyde should know these things off the top of their head, since Hyde brainwashes them with this information. Come on, get real. If you want this information, get it from someone at Hyde, don't expect laymen to know it...
-
or incoming seniors...
-
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 :)
Thanks for your comments. I'm glad to know things have worked out well for you at Hyde. Also, I appreciate your willingness to answer questions about Hyde. Since you were asked to work in the admissions office I imagine you're one of the "on track" kids at Hyde who has invested himself. That's great that Hyde was comfortable having you meet parents and students, show them around, etc.. When I was at Hyde I definitely saw some kids who were like you, but not too many..
I also saw the "other" side of Hyde. I met many students who, in my opinion, never should have gone to Hyde and were often "off track," on 2-4, sent to outpost, ran away, etc.. They had serious psychiatric problems or drug/alc problems, but Hyde took them anyway. I definitely met students there who needed treatment, not Hyde. I could never understand why Hyde acceptd these students when it didn't have anyone on staff to counsel them.
I now get questions from parents who are thinking about Hyde and know I was there. In my honest opinion, the good at Hyde (which you experienced and benefited from) does not outweigh the bad. I tell parents they should look for a school that cares about values, character, and all the good stuff, but that doesn't have Hyde's problems. Hyde tells everyone it's about character education, which is true. Character education the way Hyde does it seems to work for a certain kind of student (you seem to be an example), but it seems to fail with many students because they need something real different from what Hyde offers (usually related to their mental health/drug/alc problems).
I also had a big problem with some of the seminars, which seemed an awful lot like group therapy at times. What bothered me is that it wasn't unusual for people to "break down" in those groups or "lose it," but no one with professional training was there to handle that stuff. I saw some really bad incidents.
Here are my questions for you:
* How many of students were in your entering class (2003)? How many graduated?
* How has Hyde changed its admission standards? You said they're being more selective. How?
* What percentage of Hyde's current students seem to have pretty serious mental health/psychiatric problems? Drug/alc problems? Has that changed since you started at Hyde?
* Did you witness any bad incidents in seminars (FLCs) or was it all good? Did you think the staff had the proper training to handle those groups, especially when things got real intense?
* How much turnover is there with teachers these days? When I was at Hyde the turnover was real high.
* Is Joe Gauld still very involved? What's your experience with him?
Thanks for posting.
Mr. Procida--A couple of days ago one of the people who posts on this board asked you some questions about Hyde. I would appreciate your answers.
Mr. Procida--I thought you were interested in sharing your opinions about Hyde and answering questions. At least that's what your earlier message said: "PLEASE, if you have any questions, i'll answer them." I'm curious to know why you haven't answered the questions to you that have been posted here. Have you changed your mind? Did someone at Hyde ask you not to post comments about the school?
-
Note the part, "those kids are a waste of OUR time." Could this be a staff member posting and not a student?
yup!. pretty plain and simple. he knows that any survivor is gonna sit back and wait and pick him apart. i got tired of waiting. it is a director or staff. if not i welcome him to respond. if parents want to know what goes on there they should not talk to someone who works there,they should talk to former staff or a survivor of that program and then take a tour and ask questions of current staff or students. if they do this their child wont be attending. if they wont let you talk to students of your choice then that is a good indicator that something is not right. whatever you do dont just listen to the brainwashed students that they pick.
-
Your opinion.
-
and it is clear where it is coming from.
-
Why is everyone picking on this grad who is sharing his experience?
-
i'm at my uncle's and he told me he found my post. i didn't know what he was talking about, then i was like "o yeaa". i'll be sure to try and check this site more often. but again, i'm sorry. i just thought if people had questions, they'd email them. (and i was up that late because I was playing some online poker, got bored, and searched hyde school on google). So about those questions(and being over half way done with senior year, almost been a full 4 years).
* How many of students were in your entering class (2003)? How many graduated?
Maybe 15 back in the days of the year 03-04. We have 4 from THAT class. Another one of them went up to the Bath campus half-way through because he wanted a change (and his mom worked at the woodstock campus) and we have two 4-year seniors from the bath campus down at woodstock.
* How has Hyde changed its admission standards? You said they're being more selective. How?
it's changed in the sense that those kids you said needed something more therapeutic or rehabilitative don't get accepted anymore. i agree, too many kids who should have NEVER been there were accepted. i think there was just a financial pressure, being its first 10 years in, we just needed more people. after this whole Hyde @ 40 financial campaign thing, we got a lot more money that we raised. so there's not that pressure to keep accepting anymore. the feel on campus this year is SO much different. there's no longer kids on 2-4 for a week or two at a time. kids are off after usually 3-4 days. we dont' have a bunch of kids out breaking ethics ALL THE TIME like my other 3 years. it's just a new feel. i'm not the BIGGEST fan of Laura Gauld, but she's done some things Duncan (Mr. McCrann) just couldn't do.
* What percentage of Hyde's current students seem to have pretty serious mental health/psychiatric problems? Drug/alc problems? Has that changed since you started at Hyde?
I'd say maybe 10-25 percent maybe (very rough estimate). but it's way under half. the other years, esp. last year, drugs were a huge issue. my sophomore year there was a kid dealing massive amounts of coke, last year it was ecstasy. and you could tell that there was something really off in the community. you just don't get that feeling this year.
* Did you witness any bad incidents in seminars (FLCs) or was it all good? Did you think the staff had the proper training to handle those groups, especially when things got real intense?
o we all have stories about people breaking down (my mother breaks down way too often). def. not all good. again, no one's a certified psychologist or counselor (except Don MacMillan). so it's just people helping people. yes they screw up, because we all don't have the answers. the faculty and students only have our own personal experiences. i've heard (and recieved) feedback that was extremely off, but if people could just take it with a grain of salt, and accept it has no bearing, they could just leave it alone. don't take it personally. it's even one of the seminar guidelines. the faculty could definitely work on intense situations. the younger facutly are a lot more open to ask for help, i've noticed, because they are new and recognize that. they have no problem seeking help from the veteran faculty if things are getting to be too much.
* How much turnover is there with teachers these days? When I was at Hyde the turnover was real high.
Faculty turnover was pretty good going from last year to this year. there was a big controversy that upset many (including myself) over L.G. not renewing Tom Lord's contract (brilliant man, even non-returning offtrack kids weeped and were pissed about it). but it was pretty good. we picked up 2 faculty members mid year this year. somehow we picked 2 young guys that seem to just get it. i've never seen new faculty be this dead-on about attitudes. I'm talking about Julian Miller and Wesley Jenkins.
* Is Joe Gauld still very involved? What's your experience with him?
He's still here, old shaking and still going. haha. he's been coming down a lot to talk to us seniors and work with us. and of course for FLC weekends. i had more experience with him my first two years with my father because my dad's not in the process at hyde and exchanged some words with Joey G via email. they're on better terms now. my dad needed something different. he's been doing it, and improving. sorry, i just don't personally have much experience with him.
I was really dissapointed with many accusing me of being a fake or a faculty. i can understand why though. i understand ya'll are looking for help, and when there's an air of suspicion, it's easy to take a big whif of it. so if you still doubt me, call me up. 201-788-1824. if you live in jersey, we'll sit down for lunch and discuss. but please don't accuse me of something like that. i do see things from a more objective point of view. i was an innocent my first two years and hung around off track kids. most of my friends were off track dishonest ethic breaking kids. it didn't make them bad people. but i can recognize that. i also am around a lot of "ontrack" kids too. i've seen most of it, just short of breaking the ethics myself. any other questions i'll ask, HONESTLY and from an objective point of view. hyde has its faults in the practice, but so does every other school. but the basic concept is: be a better person. and who can argue with that. if you're really on that road for yourself trying to better yourself, a teacher messing up a single situation shouldn't throw you off the deepend. i'll try my best to check this site, but feel free to also email me questions or comments: wprocida@hyde.edu . i've got to go back to my family.
- Bill Procida
-
My dear Mr. Procida: I am trying very hard to give you the benefit of the doubt here, but I am hard pressed to comprehend why anyone with even the intelligence of a small reptile could honestly and with the most transparent of motives expect ANYone to email them to "just chat about Hyde" at an emailaddress@hyde.edu. Ever hear of "adminstrator priviledges"? I wasn't exactly born yesterday, although, come to think of it, you were, and perhaps that explains the disconnect here. This is, of course, presuming you are who you say you are, and I am not talking about your name as it appears on your birth certificate.
That said, thanks for checking back and answering the questions. Perhaps you'd care to contact Gary and share your story re. Hyde, as it does appear to be somewhat anomalous to other stories here on this board?
-
i'm at my uncle's and he told me he found my post. i didn't know what he was talking about, then i was like "o yeaa". i'll be sure to try and check this site more often. but again, i'm sorry. i just thought if people had questions, they'd email them. (and i was up that late because I was playing some online poker, got bored, and searched hyde school on google). So about those questions(and being over half way done with senior year, almost been a full 4 years).
* How many of students were in your entering class (2003)? How many graduated?
Maybe 15 back in the days of the year 03-04. We have 4 from THAT class. Another one of them went up to the Bath campus half-way through because he wanted a change (and his mom worked at the woodstock campus) and we have two 4-year seniors from the bath campus down at woodstock.
* How has Hyde changed its admission standards? You said they're being more selective. How?
it's changed in the sense that those kids you said needed something more therapeutic or rehabilitative don't get accepted anymore. i agree, too many kids who should have NEVER been there were accepted. i think there was just a financial pressure, being its first 10 years in, we just needed more people. after this whole Hyde @ 40 financial campaign thing, we got a lot more money that we raised. so there's not that pressure to keep accepting anymore. the feel on campus this year is SO much different. there's no longer kids on 2-4 for a week or two at a time. kids are off after usually 3-4 days. we dont' have a bunch of kids out breaking ethics ALL THE TIME like my other 3 years. it's just a new feel. i'm not the BIGGEST fan of Laura Gauld, but she's done some things Duncan (Mr. McCrann) just couldn't do.
* What percentage of Hyde's current students seem to have pretty serious mental health/psychiatric problems? Drug/alc problems? Has that changed since you started at Hyde?
I'd say maybe 10-25 percent maybe (very rough estimate). but it's way under half. the other years, esp. last year, drugs were a huge issue. my sophomore year there was a kid dealing massive amounts of coke, last year it was ecstasy. and you could tell that there was something really off in the community. you just don't get that feeling this year.
* Did you witness any bad incidents in seminars (FLCs) or was it all good? Did you think the staff had the proper training to handle those groups, especially when things got real intense?
o we all have stories about people breaking down (my mother breaks down way too often). def. not all good. again, no one's a certified psychologist or counselor (except Don MacMillan). so it's just people helping people. yes they screw up, because we all don't have the answers. the faculty and students only have our own personal experiences. i've heard (and recieved) feedback that was extremely off, but if people could just take it with a grain of salt, and accept it has no bearing, they could just leave it alone. don't take it personally. it's even one of the seminar guidelines. the faculty could definitely work on intense situations. the younger facutly are a lot more open to ask for help, i've noticed, because they are new and recognize that. they have no problem seeking help from the veteran faculty if things are getting to be too much.
* How much turnover is there with teachers these days? When I was at Hyde the turnover was real high.
Faculty turnover was pretty good going from last year to this year. there was a big controversy that upset many (including myself) over L.G. not renewing Tom Lord's contract (brilliant man, even non-returning offtrack kids weeped and were pissed about it). but it was pretty good. we picked up 2 faculty members mid year this year. somehow we picked 2 young guys that seem to just get it. i've never seen new faculty be this dead-on about attitudes. I'm talking about Julian Miller and Wesley Jenkins.
* Is Joe Gauld still very involved? What's your experience with him?
He's still here, old shaking and still going. haha. he's been coming down a lot to talk to us seniors and work with us. and of course for FLC weekends. i had more experience with him my first two years with my father because my dad's not in the process at hyde and exchanged some words with Joey G via email. they're on better terms now. my dad needed something different. he's been doing it, and improving. sorry, i just don't personally have much experience with him.
I was really dissapointed with many accusing me of being a fake or a faculty. i can understand why though. i understand ya'll are looking for help, and when there's an air of suspicion, it's easy to take a big whif of it. so if you still doubt me, call me up. 201-788-1824. if you live in jersey, we'll sit down for lunch and discuss. but please don't accuse me of something like that. i do see things from a more objective point of view. i was an innocent my first two years and hung around off track kids. most of my friends were off track dishonest ethic breaking kids. it didn't make them bad people. but i can recognize that. i also am around a lot of "ontrack" kids too. i've seen most of it, just short of breaking the ethics myself. any other questions i'll ask, HONESTLY and from an objective point of view. hyde has its faults in the practice, but so does every other school. but the basic concept is: be a better person. and who can argue with that. if you're really on that road for yourself trying to better yourself, a teacher messing up a single situation shouldn't throw you off the deepend. i'll try my best to check this site, but feel free to also email me questions or comments: wprocida@hyde.edu . i've got to go back to my family.
- Bill Procida
Thanks for offering so much detail about Hyde. It seems that many kids leave Hyde before graduating. What's your impression of the reasons?
Also, are you concerned that Hyde monitors this website? Is there any risk for you when you post your opinions like this?
-
My dear Mr. Procida: I am trying very hard to give you the benefit of the doubt here, but I am hard pressed to comprehend why anyone with even the intelligence of a small reptile could honestly and with the most transparent of motives expect ANYone to email them to ?just chat about Hyde? at an emailaddress@hyde.edu. Ever hear of ?adminstrator priviledges?? I wasn?t exactly born yesterday, although, come to think of it, you were, and perhaps that explains the disconnect here. This is, of course, presuming you are who you say you are, and I am not talking about your name as it appears on your birth certificate.
That said, thanks for checking back and answering the questions. Perhaps you'd care to contact Gary and share your story re. Hyde, as it does appear to be somewhat anomalous to other stories here on this board?
A question for you Billy. I believe you said you are at the Woodstock campus. Do you go to school with the Dubinsky kids? Also, is your dad in the building business?
-
i'm at my uncle's and he told me he found my post. i didn't know what he was talking about, then i was like "o yeaa". i'll be sure to try and check this site more often. but again, i'm sorry. i just thought if people had questions, they'd email them. (and i was up that late because I was playing some online poker, got bored, and searched hyde school on google). So about those questions(and being over half way done with senior year, almost been a full 4 years).
* How many of students were in your entering class (2003)? How many graduated?
Maybe 15 back in the days of the year 03-04. We have 4 from THAT class. Another one of them went up to the Bath campus half-way through because he wanted a change (and his mom worked at the woodstock campus) and we have two 4-year seniors from the bath campus down at woodstock.
* How has Hyde changed its admission standards? You said they're being more selective. How?
it's changed in the sense that those kids you said needed something more therapeutic or rehabilitative don't get accepted anymore. i agree, too many kids who should have NEVER been there were accepted. i think there was just a financial pressure, being its first 10 years in, we just needed more people. after this whole Hyde @ 40 financial campaign thing, we got a lot more money that we raised. so there's not that pressure to keep accepting anymore. the feel on campus this year is SO much different. there's no longer kids on 2-4 for a week or two at a time. kids are off after usually 3-4 days. we dont' have a bunch of kids out breaking ethics ALL THE TIME like my other 3 years. it's just a new feel. i'm not the BIGGEST fan of Laura Gauld, but she's done some things Duncan (Mr. McCrann) just couldn't do.
* What percentage of Hyde's current students seem to have pretty serious mental health/psychiatric problems? Drug/alc problems? Has that changed since you started at Hyde?
I'd say maybe 10-25 percent maybe (very rough estimate). but it's way under half. the other years, esp. last year, drugs were a huge issue. my sophomore year there was a kid dealing massive amounts of coke, last year it was ecstasy. and you could tell that there was something really off in the community. you just don't get that feeling this year.
* Did you witness any bad incidents in seminars (FLCs) or was it all good? Did you think the staff had the proper training to handle those groups, especially when things got real intense?
o we all have stories about people breaking down (my mother breaks down way too often). def. not all good. again, no one's a certified psychologist or counselor (except Don MacMillan). so it's just people helping people. yes they screw up, because we all don't have the answers. the faculty and students only have our own personal experiences. i've heard (and recieved) feedback that was extremely off, but if people could just take it with a grain of salt, and accept it has no bearing, they could just leave it alone. don't take it personally. it's even one of the seminar guidelines. the faculty could definitely work on intense situations. the younger facutly are a lot more open to ask for help, i've noticed, because they are new and recognize that. they have no problem seeking help from the veteran faculty if things are getting to be too much.
* How much turnover is there with teachers these days? When I was at Hyde the turnover was real high.
Faculty turnover was pretty good going from last year to this year. there was a big controversy that upset many (including myself) over L.G. not renewing Tom Lord's contract (brilliant man, even non-returning offtrack kids weeped and were pissed about it). but it was pretty good. we picked up 2 faculty members mid year this year. somehow we picked 2 young guys that seem to just get it. i've never seen new faculty be this dead-on about attitudes. I'm talking about Julian Miller and Wesley Jenkins.
* Is Joe Gauld still very involved? What's your experience with him?
He's still here, old shaking and still going. haha. he's been coming down a lot to talk to us seniors and work with us. and of course for FLC weekends. i had more experience with him my first two years with my father because my dad's not in the process at hyde and exchanged some words with Joey G via email. they're on better terms now. my dad needed something different. he's been doing it, and improving. sorry, i just don't personally have much experience with him.
I was really dissapointed with many accusing me of being a fake or a faculty. i can understand why though. i understand ya'll are looking for help, and when there's an air of suspicion, it's easy to take a big whif of it. so if you still doubt me, call me up. 201-788-1824. if you live in jersey, we'll sit down for lunch and discuss. but please don't accuse me of something like that. i do see things from a more objective point of view. i was an innocent my first two years and hung around off track kids. most of my friends were off track dishonest ethic breaking kids. it didn't make them bad people. but i can recognize that. i also am around a lot of "ontrack" kids too. i've seen most of it, just short of breaking the ethics myself. any other questions i'll ask, HONESTLY and from an objective point of view. hyde has its faults in the practice, but so does every other school. but the basic concept is: be a better person. and who can argue with that. if you're really on that road for yourself trying to better yourself, a teacher messing up a single situation shouldn't throw you off the deepend. i'll try my best to check this site, but feel free to also email me questions or comments: wprocida@hyde.edu . i've got to go back to my family.
- Bill Procida
Enjoyed your post Bill. It is good to get the opinion of someone who is in school at Hyde now. I do hope you are being honest on the board and are who you say you are.
Interesting that you mention Mr McMillan as the one person at Hyde who has some type of degree in social work or psychology. If my memory serves me right, this is the same Mr McMillan who lost his cool with a student and tried to choke him as his temper got the best of him.
I too was very upset about Mr Lord leaving. He did not fit what Hyde wants, which is total conformity and loyalty. In case you didn't know it, his wife was also a teacher there, but was smart enough to get out of that looney place! Do you know where Mr Lord is now?
Am curious to know what it is about Laura Gauld that you don't like. Also curious as to how you can feel comfortable posting on this board knowing that Hyde reads it. Won't you be called on the carpet? Please forgive me but it is hard to believe you go to school at Hyde with the repurcusions that would occur with you saying what you have.
Again thanks for being so open
-
Billy, you set a standard for honesty and balance that others would be wise to follow.
Gary Eskow
-
Please forgive me but it is hard to believe you go to school at Hyde with the repurcusions that would occur with you saying what you have.
I second that... Last night there were two posts from "Billy Procida" and a few hours later there was another one of those gutter attacks which we haven't had in awhile. All three posts resuscitated older threads, and there was no other activity on the forum that evening. The thought occurs to me that the timing may be less than coincidental.
-
I'm leaving for europe today to go on a trip with some hyde kids and 2 faculty to london/paris for a week. i want to just get a post in now before people think i'm avoiding ya'll again.
To start with questions from above:
Yes, I go to school with the Dubinsky's. Josh went to Summer Challenge with me back in '03 at woodstock. He went up to bath his junior year and will graduate there. Ashley graduated my sophomore year. I ran track with her. Ally's a freshman now at woodstock. Jenna's i believe 10 or a 11...
My dad is also Bill Procida. He does a lot of work with real estate business. My grandpa and my uncle do more construction in the city. My dad's not involved with Hyde, but has settled his disputes with them from way back when. He still has grown using a different path.
Mr. Lord is teaching at Vermont Academy right now.
Thanks for offering so much detail about Hyde. It seems that many kids leave Hyde before graduating. What's your impression of the reasons?
Also, are you concerned that Hyde monitors this website? Is there any risk for you when you post your opinions like this?
Before, kids were able to leave because their parent either were displeased with the school's performance with their family. Some were valid, some I knew weren't giving it a full effort. Others really made a lot of growth but didn't want to do senior year there. I've talked to those types: some are doing well. But others aren't. I know of at least one that's homeless.
Am I scared?: I'm not as concerned about them just like I'm not concerned that jerk ex/former students that just wanted to smoke pot all day but Hyde said no to, that they check and post on the site as well. There won't be repurcussions. Sure, someone might talk to me, but probably not in a negative manner. I've been here for 4 years. There's no question about MY commitment. I went here for a long time and everything Hyde told me. I needed something to believe in. Then, I created my own views. Some things I don't have the same exact idea as Hyde does, and that's okay. Part of the senior year is figuring out what you do or don't believe in. Any of you who've heard of Mark Duethorn's ethics class, that's what we do. We question the process and analyze it and figure out, within the safety of that Lecture Hall, what we actually do believe in personally. The underclassmen usually come in (i know i did) needed a structure and some principles given to them. NOT ALL. I SAID USUALLY, AND YES IT IS MOST. I did that. Then I decided myself. For example, I don't believe in a UNIQUE Potential. But I believe in something very similar. I've written this on Senior Eval sheets that go directly to Mr. MacMillan and LG herself. I haven't been reprimanded. Hyde faculty (notice I didn't make the buildings and the actual thing out to be a real person. a big pet peeve of mine is when people say, "hyde school does this and that" and i say "Nay. Hyde School is a bunch of buildings. be more specific on whom. And then I usually don't get an answer back because it was just whiny students that want to be lazy or go get messed up every night) won't tell me I can't post here. I someone did, I frankly wouldn't care. I know that there's nothing wrong. I say the same things when I'm at Hyde. The issue if anyone has been spoken to is because they may be living a double life. One when faculty and seniors are around. another when they're not. If they're two DRASTICALLY different people, then there's a huge integrity issue there.
What I don't like about LG?
She's VERY conservative. I'm VERY NOT. Haha. I don't dislike her. I disagree on many small things, but i don't dislike. I think she did awesome things for the campus. She moved the guys dorm to westhaver and annhurst(the old FLC wings, very nice. I lucked out with one of these much bigger rooms) and the girls to Warren. this put the majorit yof the student body (and let's face it, the energy) to the center of campus. and the School Store(not the bookstore) that students run (Gary, you might know about htis one, Dan worked in it a lot) got moved into the gym. She also moved classroom locations around. So the entire flow and energy of campus is in the center, which means people go around the quad. If people want to go out to get food, they have to leave their dorm. The student center lounge is now in the bottom of westhaver. So everyone is out of their dorms more and around the same area most the time. It was really ingenious. Her school meetings are also more pertinent to the school and what's going on there. And a little more focused and controled then Mr. McCrann's. His were great(his meeting on forgiveness inspired me to write a letter to the huge bully from my youth. we're straight now. i'm usually with him on breaks hanging out and goin to parties and stuff), but there was a lack of something. but i disagree on smaller things: such as not allowing us to have limos for prom this year. And other things like her not letting kids do chest painting at the big sporting events. She's just conservative. It's funny in my mind. But she's great. I wish she was more available. She's a busy woman. Everytime you pass her office, she's on the phone with someone.
I'm off to Europe for the week. So if you don't hear back about a question you ask right away, it doesn't mean i work for hyde and am scared. It means I'm chillaxin in London and Paris. Again, Hyde's got faults, but the core belief of being a better person really can't be argued with. The faults are mostly in the practice, but that's because we're all human too. We're all in the Process, so we will all struggle. Even faculty. Trust me, there are (for you complaining students) stricter schools (i.e. Family Foundation, Swift River, etc.) and parents, all schools have slip ups. All schools expel kids (although this year, we've had the least number of expulsions/seniors getting kicked out/people getting sent to bath/seniors getting demoted...that's LG's doing). I'll be back and checking. I hope there's something to respond to when I'm back.
- Bill Procida[/quote]
-
I'm leaving for europe today to go on a trip with some hyde kids and 2 faculty to london/paris for a week. i want to just get a post in now before people think i'm avoiding ya'll again.
To start with questions from above:
Yes, I go to school with the Dubinsky's. Josh went to Summer Challenge with me back in '03 at woodstock. He went up to bath his junior year and will graduate there. Ashley graduated my sophomore year. I ran track with her. Ally's a freshman now at woodstock. Jenna's i believe 10 or a 11...
My dad is also Bill Procida. He does a lot of work with real estate business. My grandpa and my uncle do more construction in the city. My dad's not involved with Hyde, but has settled his disputes with them from way back when. He still has grown using a different path.
Mr. Lord is teaching at Vermont Academy right now.
Thanks for offering so much detail about Hyde. It seems that many kids leave Hyde before graduating. What's your impression of the reasons?
Also, are you concerned that Hyde monitors this website? Is there any risk for you when you post your opinions like this?
Before, kids were able to leave because their parent either were displeased with the school's performance with their family. Some were valid, some I knew weren't giving it a full effort. Others really made a lot of growth but didn't want to do senior year there. I've talked to those types: some are doing well. But others aren't. I know of at least one that's homeless.
Am I scared?: I'm not as concerned about them just like I'm not concerned that jerk ex/former students that just wanted to smoke pot all day but Hyde said no to, that they check and post on the site as well. There won't be repurcussions. Sure, someone might talk to me, but probably not in a negative manner. I've been here for 4 years. There's no question about MY commitment. I went here for a long time and everything Hyde told me. I needed something to believe in. Then, I created my own views. Some things I don't have the same exact idea as Hyde does, and that's okay. Part of the senior year is figuring out what you do or don't believe in. Any of you who've heard of Mark Duethorn's ethics class, that's what we do. We question the process and analyze it and figure out, within the safety of that Lecture Hall, what we actually do believe in personally. The underclassmen usually come in (i know i did) needed a structure and some principles given to them. NOT ALL. I SAID USUALLY, AND YES IT IS MOST. I did that. Then I decided myself. For example, I don't believe in a UNIQUE Potential. But I believe in something very similar. I've written this on Senior Eval sheets that go directly to Mr. MacMillan and LG herself. I haven't been reprimanded. Hyde faculty (notice I didn't make the buildings and the actual thing out to be a real person. a big pet peeve of mine is when people say, "hyde school does this and that" and i say "Nay. Hyde School is a bunch of buildings. be more specific on whom. And then I usually don't get an answer back because it was just whiny students that want to be lazy or go get messed up every night) won't tell me I can't post here. I someone did, I frankly wouldn't care. I know that there's nothing wrong. I say the same things when I'm at Hyde. The issue if anyone has been spoken to is because they may be living a double life. One when faculty and seniors are around. another when they're not. If they're two DRASTICALLY different people, then there's a huge integrity issue there.
What I don't like about LG?
She's VERY conservative. I'm VERY NOT. Haha. I don't dislike her. I disagree on many small things, but i don't dislike. I think she did awesome things for the campus. She moved the guys dorm to westhaver and annhurst(the old FLC wings, very nice. I lucked out with one of these much bigger rooms) and the girls to Warren. this put the majorit yof the student body (and let's face it, the energy) to the center of campus. and the School Store(not the bookstore) that students run (Gary, you might know about htis one, Dan worked in it a lot) got moved into the gym. She also moved classroom locations around. So the entire flow and energy of campus is in the center, which means people go around the quad. If people want to go out to get food, they have to leave their dorm. The student center lounge is now in the bottom of westhaver. So everyone is out of their dorms more and around the same area most the time. It was really ingenious. Her school meetings are also more pertinent to the school and what's going on there. And a little more focused and controled then Mr. McCrann's. His were great(his meeting on forgiveness inspired me to write a letter to the huge bully from my youth. we're straight now. i'm usually with him on breaks hanging out and goin to parties and stuff), but there was a lack of something. but i disagree on smaller things: such as not allowing us to have limos for prom this year. And other things like her not letting kids do chest painting at the big sporting events. She's just conservative. It's funny in my mind. But she's great. I wish she was more available. She's a busy woman. Everytime you pass her office, she's on the phone with someone.
I'm off to Europe for the week. So if you don't hear back about a question you ask right away, it doesn't mean i work for hyde and am scared. It means I'm chillaxin in London and Paris. Again, Hyde's got faults, but the core belief of being a better person really can't be argued with. The faults are mostly in the practice, but that's because we're all human too. We're all in the Process, so we will all struggle. Even faculty. Trust me, there are (for you complaining students) stricter schools (i.e. Family Foundation, Swift River, etc.) and parents, all schools have slip ups. All schools expel kids (although this year, we've had the least number of expulsions/seniors getting kicked out/people getting sent to bath/seniors getting demoted...that's LG's doing). I'll be back and checking. I hope there's something to respond to when I'm back.
- Bill Procida[/quote]
-
Hyde faculty (notice I didn't make the buildings and the actual thing out to be a real person. a big pet peeve of mine is when people say, "hyde school does this and that" and i say "Nay. Hyde School is a bunch of buildings. be more specific on whom. And then I usually don't get an answer back because it was just whiny students that want to be lazy or go get messed up every night) won't tell me I can't post here.
The reason people refer to Hyde School as a separate entity is because it... well... IS a separate entity! You do understand this, don't you?
When you attend Hyde, and your parents pay for you to attend Hyde, there are certain responsibilities and expectations you and your parents (should) have of Hyde School as part and parcel of that contract. The faculty that work at Hyde are (supposed to be) acting as representatives of said institution, not personal buddies or enemies of you or what have you.
There are very important legal ramifications to this distinction. It is NOT an idiosyncratic form of expression that is elective, as you seem wont to portray...
-
Another one of them went up to the Bath campus half-way through because he wanted a change (and his mom worked at the woodstock campus)...
Yes, I go to school with the Dubinsky's. Josh went to Summer Challenge with me back in '03 at woodstock. He went up to bath his junior year and will graduate there.
Sounds to me like the decision for Josh's transfer had less to do with his mom than his dad. Care to comment on this?
-
I'm leaving for europe today to go on a trip with some hyde kids and 2 faculty to london/paris for a week. i want to just get a post in now before people think i'm avoiding ya'll again.
To start with questions from above:
Yes, I go to school with the Dubinsky's. Josh went to Summer Challenge with me back in '03 at woodstock. He went up to bath his junior year and will graduate there. Ashley graduated my sophomore year. I ran track with her. Ally's a freshman now at woodstock. Jenna's i believe 10 or a 11...
My dad is also Bill Procida. He does a lot of work with real estate business. My grandpa and my uncle do more construction in the city. My dad's not involved with Hyde, but has settled his disputes with them from way back when. He still has grown using a different path.
Mr. Lord is teaching at Vermont Academy right now.
Thanks for offering so much detail about Hyde. It seems that many kids leave Hyde before graduating. What's your impression of the reasons?
Also, are you concerned that Hyde monitors this website? Is there any risk for you when you post your opinions like this?
Before, kids were able to leave because their parent either were displeased with the school's performance with their family. Some were valid, some I knew weren't giving it a full effort. Others really made a lot of growth but didn't want to do senior year there. I've talked to those types: some are doing well. But others aren't. I know of at least one that's homeless.
Am I scared?: I'm not as concerned about them just like I'm not concerned that jerk ex/former students that just wanted to smoke pot all day but Hyde said no to, that they check and post on the site as well. There won't be repurcussions. Sure, someone might talk to me, but probably not in a negative manner. I've been here for 4 years. There's no question about MY commitment. I went here for a long time and everything Hyde told me. I needed something to believe in. Then, I created my own views. Some things I don't have the same exact idea as Hyde does, and that's okay. Part of the senior year is figuring out what you do or don't believe in. Any of you who've heard of Mark Duethorn's ethics class, that's what we do. We question the process and analyze it and figure out, within the safety of that Lecture Hall, what we actually do believe in personally. The underclassmen usually come in (i know i did) needed a structure and some principles given to them. NOT ALL. I SAID USUALLY, AND YES IT IS MOST. I did that. Then I decided myself. For example, I don't believe in a UNIQUE Potential. But I believe in something very similar. I've written this on Senior Eval sheets that go directly to Mr. MacMillan and LG herself. I haven't been reprimanded. Hyde faculty (notice I didn't make the buildings and the actual thing out to be a real person. a big pet peeve of mine is when people say, "hyde school does this and that" and i say "Nay. Hyde School is a bunch of buildings. be more specific on whom. And then I usually don't get an answer back because it was just whiny students that want to be lazy or go get messed up every night) won't tell me I can't post here. I someone did, I frankly wouldn't care. I know that there's nothing wrong. I say the same things when I'm at Hyde. The issue if anyone has been spoken to is because they may be living a double life. One when faculty and seniors are around. another when they're not. If they're two DRASTICALLY different people, then there's a huge integrity issue there.
What I don't like about LG?
She's VERY conservative. I'm VERY NOT. Haha. I don't dislike her. I disagree on many small things, but i don't dislike. I think she did awesome things for the campus. She moved the guys dorm to westhaver and annhurst(the old FLC wings, very nice. I lucked out with one of these much bigger rooms) and the girls to Warren. this put the majorit yof the student body (and let's face it, the energy) to the center of campus. and the School Store(not the bookstore) that students run (Gary, you might know about htis one, Dan worked in it a lot) got moved into the gym. She also moved classroom locations around. So the entire flow and energy of campus is in the center, which means people go around the quad. If people want to go out to get food, they have to leave their dorm. The student center lounge is now in the bottom of westhaver. So everyone is out of their dorms more and around the same area most the time. It was really ingenious. Her school meetings are also more pertinent to the school and what's going on there. And a little more focused and controled then Mr. McCrann's. His were great(his meeting on forgiveness inspired me to write a letter to the huge bully from my youth. we're straight now. i'm usually with him on breaks hanging out and goin to parties and stuff), but there was a lack of something. but i disagree on smaller things: such as not allowing us to have limos for prom this year. And other things like her not letting kids do chest painting at the big sporting events. She's just conservative. It's funny in my mind. But she's great. I wish she was more available. She's a busy woman. Everytime you pass her office, she's on the phone with someone.
I'm off to Europe for the week. So if you don't hear back about a question you ask right away, it doesn't mean i work for hyde and am scared. It means I'm chillaxin in London and Paris. Again, Hyde's got faults, but the core belief of being a better person really can't be argued with. The faults are mostly in the practice, but that's because we're all human too. We're all in the Process, so we will all struggle. Even faculty. Trust me, there are (for you complaining students) stricter schools (i.e. Family Foundation, Swift River, etc.) and parents, all schools have slip ups. All schools expel kids (although this year, we've had the least number of expulsions/seniors getting kicked out/people getting sent to bath/seniors getting demoted...that's LG's doing). I'll be back and checking. I hope there's something to respond to when I'm back.
- Bill Procida
[/quote]
I admire your candor. You seem to be thoughtul and able to recognize what's been positive about Hyde for you and what leaves at lot to be desired. For myself, it's been hard to see the positive at Hyde. I've seen too many people limp away from Hyde because it was a bad experience and the wrong place. No matter how good Hyde is for some people, I'm convinced that Hyde is a very bad place for many. I agree that it's not always fair to talk about Hyde in general, but there's so much about the school that I don't like. I like some individuals, but I definitely don't like the people there who are cruel, in your face, and condemning. I don't like incompetence, and I've seen much too much of that at Hyde.
-
again, no one's a certified psychologist or counselor (except Don MacMillan).
Interesting that you mention Mr McMillan as the one person at Hyde who has some type of degree in social work or psychology. If my memory serves me right, this is the same Mr McMillan who lost his cool with a student and tried to choke him as his temper got the best of him.
from hyde's website, news section:
Hyde School Welcomes New Associate Head, Don MacMillan
12/21/2006
Woodstock, CT?Hyde School welcomes Don MacMillan to the new position of Associate Head of School. Rejoining the Hyde Organization after a break during which he acquired a master?s degree in counseling psychology from Antioch Graduate School of New England, MacMillan wanted to return to all the action of Hyde School.
MacMillan started with Hyde in 1983 and has held many different positions with the organization?from faculty intern to basketball, wrestling, and lacrosse coach, to founding headmaster of the Hyde Leadership Public Charter School in Washington, DC.
MacMillan sees a bright future for Hyde-Woodstock, noting: ?We want to continue to attract students and families who are motivated to do well academically and athletically, and who desire to experience personal growth. We are doing a better job of that as an organization, and will continue to grow. I think the ?Know Yourself, Be Yourself? workshop offered to the Woodstock Middle School recently was a great step to becoming active in the larger community. We have working relationships with Woodstock Academy and Woodstock Middle School that are good for all involved.?
-
again, no one's a certified psychologist or counselor (except Don MacMillan).
Interesting that you mention Mr McMillan as the one person at Hyde who has some type of degree in social work or psychology. If my memory serves me right, this is the same Mr McMillan who lost his cool with a student and tried to choke him as his temper got the best of him.
from hyde's website, news section:
Hyde School Welcomes New Associate Head, Don MacMillan
12/21/2006
Woodstock, CT?Hyde School welcomes Don MacMillan to the new position of Associate Head of School. Rejoining the Hyde Organization after a break during which he acquired a master?s degree in counseling psychology from Antioch Graduate School of New England, MacMillan wanted to return to all the action of Hyde School.
MacMillan started with Hyde in 1983 and has held many different positions with the organization?from faculty intern to basketball, wrestling, and lacrosse coach, to founding headmaster of the Hyde Leadership Public Charter School in Washington, DC.
MacMillan sees a bright future for Hyde-Woodstock, noting: ?We want to continue to attract students and families who are motivated to do well academically and athletically, and who desire to experience personal growth. We are doing a better job of that as an organization, and will continue to grow. I think the ?Know Yourself, Be Yourself? workshop offered to the Woodstock Middle School recently was a great step to becoming active in the larger community. We have working relationships with Woodstock Academy and Woodstock Middle School that are good for all involved.?
I could be wrong about McMillan choking the kid. It was either him or one of the other family members. Maybe it was McMillan who left for a while after admitting to writing a paper using someone else's material. I get this family confused. All that I know is that both of those events happened and it was definitely members of the Gauld family
-
again, no one's a certified psychologist or counselor (except Don MacMillan).
Interesting that you mention Mr McMillan as the one person at Hyde who has some type of degree in social work or psychology. If my memory serves me right, this is the same Mr McMillan who lost his cool with a student and tried to choke him as his temper got the best of him.
from hyde's website, news section:
Hyde School Welcomes New Associate Head, Don MacMillan
12/21/2006
Woodstock, CT?Hyde School welcomes Don MacMillan to the new position of Associate Head of School. Rejoining the Hyde Organization after a break during which he acquired a master?s degree in counseling psychology from Antioch Graduate School of New England, MacMillan wanted to return to all the action of Hyde School.
MacMillan started with Hyde in 1983 and has held many different positions with the organization?from faculty intern to basketball, wrestling, and lacrosse coach, to founding headmaster of the Hyde Leadership Public Charter School in Washington, DC.
MacMillan sees a bright future for Hyde-Woodstock, noting: ?We want to continue to attract students and families who are motivated to do well academically and athletically, and who desire to experience personal growth. We are doing a better job of that as an organization, and will continue to grow. I think the ?Know Yourself, Be Yourself? workshop offered to the Woodstock Middle School recently was a great step to becoming active in the larger community. We have working relationships with Woodstock Academy and Woodstock Middle School that are good for all involved.?
I could be wrong about McMillan choking the kid. It was either him or one of the other family members. Maybe it was McMillan who left for a while after admitting to writing a paper using someone else's material. I get this family confused. All that I know is that both of those events happened and it was definitely members of the Gauld family
Oh, those Gaulds! We just can't get enough of them! They certainly take the high road vis-a-vie "character development", do they not?!
HYPOCRITE, n.
One who, professing virtues that he does not respect, secures the advantage of seeming to be what he depises.
http://www.alcyone.com/max/lit/devils/h.html (http://www.alcyone.com/max/lit/devils/h.html)
-
again, no one's a certified psychologist or counselor (except Don MacMillan).
Interesting that you mention Mr McMillan as the one person at Hyde who has some type of degree in social work or psychology. If my memory serves me right, this is the same Mr McMillan who lost his cool with a student and tried to choke him as his temper got the best of him.
from hyde's website, news section:
Hyde School Welcomes New Associate Head, Don MacMillan
12/21/2006
Woodstock, CT?Hyde School welcomes Don MacMillan to the new position of Associate Head of School. Rejoining the Hyde Organization after a break during which he acquired a master?s degree in counseling psychology from Antioch Graduate School of New England, MacMillan wanted to return to all the action of Hyde School.
MacMillan started with Hyde in 1983 and has held many different positions with the organization?from faculty intern to basketball, wrestling, and lacrosse coach, to founding headmaster of the Hyde Leadership Public Charter School in Washington, DC.
MacMillan sees a bright future for Hyde-Woodstock, noting: ?We want to continue to attract students and families who are motivated to do well academically and athletically, and who desire to experience personal growth. We are doing a better job of that as an organization, and will continue to grow. I think the ?Know Yourself, Be Yourself? workshop offered to the Woodstock Middle School recently was a great step to becoming active in the larger community. We have working relationships with Woodstock Academy and Woodstock Middle School that are good for all involved.?
I could be wrong about McMillan choking the kid. It was either him or one of the other family members. Maybe it was McMillan who left for a while after admitting to writing a paper using someone else's material. I get this family confused. All that I know is that both of those events happened and it was definitely members of the Gauld family
Oh, those Gaulds! We just can't get enough of them! They certainly take the high road vis-a-vie "character development", do they not?!
HYPOCRITE, n.
One who, professing virtues that he does not respect, secures the advantage of seeming to be what he depises.
http://www.alcyone.com/max/lit/devils/h.html (http://www.alcyone.com/max/lit/devils/h.html)
I just confirmed with a friend of mine. It was Don McMillan who lost his temper after a kid spit at him. He grabbed him by the neck and choked him. I guess that Psychology degree did him a lot of good.....not! It must have been one of the other Gauld's who admitted to plagiarism and then took a leave of absence or "resigned." As you said, the staff who run this school are quite the hypocrites. The Administrators try to put a different spin on their disfunction by saying things like, "so and so is going to take a leave of absence to try and work on himself and do some discovery." This would all be pretty funny if these were not the same people you were intrusting your kids to. These are the ones who are supposed to be a good example to your kids?
-
I just confirmed with a friend of mine. It was Don McMillan who lost his temper after a kid spit at him. He grabbed him by the neck and choked him. I guess that Psychology degree did him a lot of good.....not! It must have been one of the other Gauld's who admitted to plagiarism and then took a leave of absence or "resigned." As you said, the staff who run this school are quite the hypocrites. The Administrators try to put a different spin on their disfunction by saying things like, "so and so is going to take a leave of absence to try and work on himself and do some discovery." This would all be pretty funny if these were not the same people you were intrusting your kids to. These are the ones who are supposed to be a good example to your kids?
Mmmmm.... And what happens to the kid who, by ill-thought happenstance, is found guilty of such a sin, e.g., plagiarism? Are they given such same benefit of "doubt"? Ay-yaeh-yaeh... NO! They are expelled under a veritable typhoon cloud of shame and disgust! What a circus!
CIRCUS, n.
A place where horses, ponies and elephants are permitted to see men, women and children acting the fool.
http://www.alcyone.com/max/lit/devils/c.html (http://www.alcyone.com/max/lit/devils/c.html)
-
I just confirmed with a friend of mine. It was Don McMillan who lost his temper after a kid spit at him. He grabbed him by the neck and choked him. I guess that Psychology degree did him a lot of good.....not! It must have been one of the other Gauld's who admitted to plagiarism and then took a leave of absence or "resigned." As you said, the staff who run this school are quite the hypocrites. The Administrators try to put a different spin on their disfunction by saying things like, "so and so is going to take a leave of absence to try and work on himself and do some discovery." This would all be pretty funny if these were not the same people you were intrusting your kids to. These are the ones who are supposed to be a good example to your kids?
Mmmmm.... And what happens to the kid who, by ill-thought happenstance, is found guilty of such a sin, e.g., plagiarism? Are they given such same benefit of "doubt"? Ay-yaeh-yaeh... NO! They are expelled under a veritable typhoon cloud of shame and disgust! What a circus!
CIRCUS, n.
A place where horses, ponies and elephants are permitted to see men, women and children acting the fool.
http://www.alcyone.com/max/lit/devils/c.html (http://www.alcyone.com/max/lit/devils/c.html)
Ursus, you sound like a disgruntled ex-student and you are very childish in your postings. Grow up.
Also, if you can't point out positives and negatives, then you are very biased and not capable of giving a fair objective view. A frustration of mine is the ignorance. Not ignorance in the disrespectful sense, but the descriptive. Many of you think you know what you are talking about. My mom even thinks she knows what she's talking about sometimes. But you never really know until you've been there. For former students, you need to have seen both sides: been the off track and the on track. I wasn't off-track for terribly long, and I was off in a different way that didn't involve going out and getting messed up at night. Once you're on, you have a better chance of seeing what really goes on in the innerworkings. Granted, not to the extent that you hear the entire schemings going on in the headmistress's office, but enough to know. But I can't stress enough, for some reason, that the philosophy at the core of it all is all-good. There's no negative to trying to be a better person. Some ideas that branch off of that good idea don't have to be your bible, nor are the practices of the concept perfect or even close. But I'd like you to point me to a school that does have it almost all correct because I guarenttee (to prospective families), your child's current public school DOES NOT have it. No school's perfectly right and I think they all want us to be better people, but Hyde (along with others, although the practices do vary) pursues that idea. It's not for everybody, but you never know until you try it. Not attend, but truly try it without taking things personally. And I think that's a big reason why so many parents (including my own) get disgruntled: because some just can't let something slide. Talking to parents, I hear a lot of complaints about feedback given to them. There's a reason why we have seminar guidelines. One of them says not to take them personally. I used to take them personally too. But I am now comfortable with myself enough to know that I can dismiss something, think about it later, and if it still doesn't apply, then I can forget about it, no strings attached. I say "Chill angry-parent-who-heard-something-they-didn't-like, it's okay." But students, faculty, parents, many people have a hard time with that because the ego gets in the way. Ego is a tough son-of-a-bitch to break, but it needs to be done in order to ever be a learner going into any conversation. I wish some of ya'll could see it as objectively (or as close as any real human being can get to objective, b/c there's got to be a bias inside of all of us to some extent) or as close to objectivity (word check) the way I feel I do. Because it is a lot simpler than the bickering, the seminars, the 5:30s, the 2-4, inspection, classes, sports, lights out, Mr. Felt, confrontations, AICR, action-reflection, ditto, bing, EEMO, Mr. Bragg, IPSES, the Words and Principles, Summer X, crews, attitude, being dirty, Joe Gauld, breaking ethics, push-ups, outpost, inpost, feedback, seminar guidelines, truth over harmony, the 10 Priorities, The Biggest Job, retreats, regionals, sober breaks, serenity, FLC, allowance, accountabilities, Summer Challenge, Family Weekends, Mrs. Gauld, Mr. Walsh, busts, senior year, 4 year seniors, a rose at graduation, seeing my family and friends stand up as a I make a speech...it's about "Hey. I'm on a journey to become a better person. I see you are too. Let's help each other. You may not be right, but I'm open to hear suggestions." To simplify it more: "I want to be a better _____". Practice and protocol aside, it boils down to that. If you can let go of imperfections in the help you get, good for you. Apparantly, we're some of the few.
Don't turn it into a belief. It's about a very good idea. But don't build a belief structure around it (although many have).
BTW, Europe's pretty cool. I'm in an internet cafe in London. Weather's nice. Going to go see a bunch of cool stuff tomorrow apparantly. Didn't realize how weak our dollar is though. Tsk tsk. Let me know what ya'll thought, but of course I didn't need to ask for that.
-
sorry, forgot to put my name up there in the post from just now.#
-billy procida
-
(http://http://www.thebestpageintheuniverse.net/images/steve_koolaid2.jpg)
-
(http://http://www.thebestpageintheuniverse.net/images/steve_koolaid2.jpg)
Suck the kool-aide like mothers milk from the breast of Hyde.
-
I just confirmed with a friend of mine. It was Don McMillan who lost his temper after a kid spit at him. He grabbed him by the neck and choked him. I guess that Psychology degree did him a lot of good.....not! It must have been one of the other Gauld's who admitted to plagiarism and then took a leave of absence or "resigned." As you said, the staff who run this school are quite the hypocrites. The Administrators try to put a different spin on their disfunction by saying things like, "so and so is going to take a leave of absence to try and work on himself and do some discovery." This would all be pretty funny if these were not the same people you were intrusting your kids to. These are the ones who are supposed to be a good example to your kids?
Mmmmm.... And what happens to the kid who, by ill-thought happenstance, is found guilty of such a sin, e.g., plagiarism? Are they given such same benefit of "doubt"? Ay-yaeh-yaeh... NO! They are expelled under a veritable typhoon cloud of shame and disgust! What a circus!
CIRCUS, n.
A place where horses, ponies and elephants are permitted to see men, women and children acting the fool.
http://www.alcyone.com/max/lit/devils/c.html (http://www.alcyone.com/max/lit/devils/c.html)
Ursus, you sound like a disgruntled ex-student and you are very childish in your postings. Grow up.
Also, if you can't point out positives and negatives, then you are very biased and not capable of giving a fair objective view. A frustration of mine is the ignorance. Not ignorance in the disrespectful sense, but the descriptive. Many of you think you know what you are talking about. My mom even thinks she knows what she's talking about sometimes. But you never really know until you've been there. For former students, I want you to have seen both sides: been the off track and the on track. I wasn't off-track for terribly long, and I was off in a different way that didn't involve going out and getting messed up at night. Once you're on, you have a better chance of seeing what really goes on in the innerworkings. Granted, not to the extent that you hear the entire schemings going on in the headmistress's office, but enough to know. But I can't stress enough, for some reason, that the philosophy at the core of it all is all-good. There's no negative to trying to be a better person. Some ideas that branch off of that good idea don't have to be your bible, nor are the practices of the concept perfect or even close. But I'd like you to point me to a school that does have it almost all correct because I guarenttee (to prospective families), your child's current public school DOES NOT have it. No school's perfectly right and I think they all want us to be better people, but Hyde (along with others, although the practices do vary) pursues that idea. It's not for everybody, but you never know until you try it. Not attend, but truly try it without taking things personally. And I think that's a big reason why so many parents (including my own) get disgruntled: because some just can't let something slide. Talking to parents, I hear a lot of complaints about feedback given to them. There's a reason why we have seminar guidelines. One of them says not to take them personally. I used to take them personally too. But I am now comfortable with myself enough to know that I can dismiss something, think about it later, and if it still doesn't apply, then I can forget about it, no strings attached. I say "Chill angry-parent-who-heard-something-they-didn't-like, it's okay." But students, faculty, parents, many people have a hard time with that because the ego gets in the way. Ego is a tough son-of-a-bitch to break, but it needs to be done in order to ever be a learner going into any conversation. I wish some of ya'll could see it as objectively (or as close as any real human being can get to objective, b/c there's got to be a bias inside of all of us to some extent) or as close to objectivity (word check) the way I feel I do. Because it is a lot simpler than the bickering, the seminars, the 5:30s, the 2-4, inspection, classes, sports, lights out, Mr. Felt, confrontations, AICR, action-reflection, ditto, bing, EEMO, Mr. Bragg, IPSES, the Words and Principles, Summer X, crews, attitude, being dirty, Joe Gauld, breaking ethics, push-ups, outpost, inpost, feedback, seminar guidelines, truth over harmony, the 10 Priorities, The Biggest Job, retreats, regionals, sober breaks, serenity, FLC, allowance, accountabilities, Summer Challenge, Family Weekends, Mrs. Gauld, Mr. Walsh, busts, senior year, 4 year seniors, a rose at graduation, seeing my family and friends stand up as a I make a speech...it's about "Hey. I'm on a journey to become a better person. I see you are too. Let's help each other. You may not be right, but I'm open to hear suggestions." To simplify it more: "I want to be a better _____". Practice and protocol aside, it boils down to that. If you can let go of imperfections in the help you get, good for you. Apparantly, we're some of the few.
Don't turn it into a belief. It's about a very good idea. But don't build a belief structure around it (although many have).
BTW, Europe's pretty cool. I'm in an internet cafe in London. Weather's nice. Going to go see a bunch of cool stuff tomorrow apparantly. Didn't realize how weak our dollar is though. Tsk tsk. Let me know what ya'll thought, but of course I didn't need to ask for that.
Yes Billy, it is about becoming a better person, but the problem is you are at a school that has staff who are not capable of teaching good morals, values, etc. You have to lead by example and most of them do not. There also are very few staff or possibly none, who are capable of dealing with the physical and psychological problems that many of the kids have including ADD, drug abuse, past emotional trauma, etc.
I understand all you are saying and you are obviously doing well at Hyde. I am sure part of it is that you are maturing on your own like many do after they leave Hyde. I am not saying that the core values talked about at Hyde are not good, but Hyde does not teach these by example. I think you are sorely being misled to believe that the changes in you are 100% Hyde. My guess is that you would have reached this point on your own, but maybe a little later. Certainly not worth the $45,000 a year your family pays!
I believe that in years down the line you will realize what Hyde is all about. It is about the Gauld family making mega bucks off of desperate parents.
-
I just confirmed with a friend of mine. It was Don McMillan who lost his temper after a kid spit at him. He grabbed him by the neck and choked him. I guess that Psychology degree did him a lot of good.....not! It must have been one of the other Gauld's who admitted to plagiarism and then took a leave of absence or "resigned." As you said, the staff who run this school are quite the hypocrites. The Administrators try to put a different spin on their disfunction by saying things like, "so and so is going to take a leave of absence to try and work on himself and do some discovery." This would all be pretty funny if these were not the same people you were intrusting your kids to. These are the ones who are supposed to be a good example to your kids?
Mmmmm.... And what happens to the kid who, by ill-thought happenstance, is found guilty of such a sin, e.g., plagiarism? Are they given such same benefit of "doubt"? Ay-yaeh-yaeh... NO! They are expelled under a veritable typhoon cloud of shame and disgust! What a circus!
CIRCUS, n.
A place where horses, ponies and elephants are permitted to see men, women and children acting the fool.
http://www.alcyone.com/max/lit/devils/c.html (http://www.alcyone.com/max/lit/devils/c.html)
Ursus, you sound like a disgruntled ex-student and you are very childish in your postings. Grow up.
Also, if you can't point out positives and negatives, then you are very biased and not capable of giving a fair objective view. A frustration of mine is the ignorance. Not ignorance in the disrespectful sense, but the descriptive. Many of you think you know what you are talking about. My mom even thinks she knows what she's talking about sometimes. But you never really know until you've been there. For former students, I want you to have seen both sides: been the off track and the on track. I wasn't off-track for terribly long, and I was off in a different way that didn't involve going out and getting messed up at night. Once you're on, you have a better chance of seeing what really goes on in the innerworkings. Granted, not to the extent that you hear the entire schemings going on in the headmistress's office, but enough to know. But I can't stress enough, for some reason, that the philosophy at the core of it all is all-good. There's no negative to trying to be a better person. Some ideas that branch off of that good idea don't have to be your bible, nor are the practices of the concept perfect or even close. But I'd like you to point me to a school that does have it almost all correct because I guarenttee (to prospective families), your child's current public school DOES NOT have it. No school's perfectly right and I think they all want us to be better people, but Hyde (along with others, although the practices do vary) pursues that idea. It's not for everybody, but you never know until you try it. Not attend, but truly try it without taking things personally. And I think that's a big reason why so many parents (including my own) get disgruntled: because some just can't let something slide. Talking to parents, I hear a lot of complaints about feedback given to them. There's a reason why we have seminar guidelines. One of them says not to take them personally. I used to take them personally too. But I am now comfortable with myself enough to know that I can dismiss something, think about it later, and if it still doesn't apply, then I can forget about it, no strings attached. I say "Chill angry-parent-who-heard-something-they-didn't-like, it's okay." But students, faculty, parents, many people have a hard time with that because the ego gets in the way. Ego is a tough son-of-a-bitch to break, but it needs to be done in order to ever be a learner going into any conversation. I wish some of ya'll could see it as objectively (or as close as any real human being can get to objective, b/c there's got to be a bias inside of all of us to some extent) or as close to objectivity (word check) the way I feel I do. Because it is a lot simpler than the bickering, the seminars, the 5:30s, the 2-4, inspection, classes, sports, lights out, Mr. Felt, confrontations, AICR, action-reflection, ditto, bing, EEMO, Mr. Bragg, IPSES, the Words and Principles, Summer X, crews, attitude, being dirty, Joe Gauld, breaking ethics, push-ups, outpost, inpost, feedback, seminar guidelines, truth over harmony, the 10 Priorities, The Biggest Job, retreats, regionals, sober breaks, serenity, FLC, allowance, accountabilities, Summer Challenge, Family Weekends, Mrs. Gauld, Mr. Walsh, busts, senior year, 4 year seniors, a rose at graduation, seeing my family and friends stand up as a I make a speech...it's about "Hey. I'm on a journey to become a better person. I see you are too. Let's help each other. You may not be right, but I'm open to hear suggestions." To simplify it more: "I want to be a better _____". Practice and protocol aside, it boils down to that. If you can let go of imperfections in the help you get, good for you. Apparantly, we're some of the few.
Don't turn it into a belief. It's about a very good idea. But don't build a belief structure around it (although many have).
BTW, Europe's pretty cool. I'm in an internet cafe in London. Weather's nice. Going to go see a bunch of cool stuff tomorrow apparantly. Didn't realize how weak our dollar is though. Tsk tsk. Let me know what ya'll thought, but of course I didn't need to ask for that.
:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:
God Bless you, Billy, for being such an earnest fellow! I cannot help but admire your prodigious output. One thing that has absolutely struck me is your incredibly solid sense of self; I don't think I had half that sense of security in who I was when I was your age, no, make that a tenth. And I have the general impression, although I may well be wrong, that your condition is the exception, rather than the rule, as far as most teenagers are concerned these days, in fact, any days in my living memory. In fact, the only time I can recall running into such all-knowing chutzpah was when I was at Hyde, faced with the glorious moral superiority of the Senior Leadership Group, or whatever they were called in those days. How inferior I felt back then: sad miserable little fart, destined for a miserable shoddy life of mediocrity, bereft of any measure of excellence, deemed a failure by Hyde, hence a failure for Life. Although I made no effort to keep in touch (my tail between my legs from shame), word still crept back to me over the years, of the many, many, deflated balloons. And sometimes said deflations took a terrible toll on the balloon holders. Take good care, my friend, that you keep your feet on the ground, and do not attach too much importance to all the Hydespeak you hear...
That said, let me lurch loquaciously into your post, although I am not sure that it will matter, as you have seen fit to dismiss my previous queries as being "disgruntled" and "childish".
Many of you think you know what you are talking about. My mom even thinks she knows what she's talking about sometimes. But you never really know until you've been there.
Your mom knows what she is talking about, and your Dad knows what he is talking about too. Trust me, they've been around the block a few more times than you have. And as far as this board goes, we HAVE been there, and that's what we're talking about! And we be former students, parents, and even occasional former faculty members! We generally talk about what we've experienced personally, ourselves, when we were there, as well as our reflections on how our experience has affected us during the course of our lives. At any rate, yes, we think we know what we are talking about as we are talking about our experience. Much like you think you know what you are talking about because you are talking about your experience.
You seem to actually buy Hyde's politic jargon that they are unique in, let alone good at, what they do. Rest assured that they are not. There is a small slew of programs, including some boarding schools, that started cropping up in the late 1950's/early 1960's onwards that claimed to focus more on "character development" or "behaviour modification", essentially all of which employed known brainwashing and thought coercion techniques. Hyde has tried many times to re-invent itself along the way, perhaps in order to sanitize the connection, but has always failed to fully shake the beast, as the beast is written in stone at the core of their philosophy of how and why they do what they do. Take a look around at some of the other threads here, and read a bit.
But I'd like you to point me to a school that does have it almost all correct because I guarenttee (to prospective families), your child's current public school DOES NOT have it. No school's perfectly right and I think they all want us to be better people, but Hyde (along with others, although the practices do vary) pursues that idea. It's not for everybody, but you never know until you try it.
You are right in saying that no school is perfect, but most parents tend to shy from blowing $40k (or whatever it goes for these days) on "just trying it", particularly when the institution brainwashes their kid and might even kick the kid out, with the remainder of the year's tuition staying in Hyde's pocket. Note that they do not offer any form of "money back guarantee", should the school prove to be grossly inappropriate. Don't knock public school so much, individual schools vary widely. And certainly don't entail taking out a second mortage.
I'd like to second the poster who noted:
I think you are sorely being misled to believe that the changes in you are 100% Hyde. My guess is that you would have reached this point on your own, but maybe a little later.
I would go so far as to say extremely few of your changes have to do with Hyde. You seem like a good sort, and I believe that you would have naturally gravitated towards instilling good common sense principles over time.
Because it is a lot simpler than the bickering, the seminars, the 5:30s, the 2-4, inspection, classes, sports, lights out, Mr. Felt, confrontations, AICR, action-reflection, ditto, bing, EEMO, Mr. Bragg, IPSES, the Words and Principles, Summer X, crews, attitude, being dirty, Joe Gauld, breaking ethics, push-ups, outpost, inpost, feedback, seminar guidelines, truth over harmony, the 10 Priorities, The Biggest Job, retreats, regionals, sober breaks, serenity, FLC, allowance, accountabilities, Summer Challenge, Family Weekends, Mrs. Gauld, Mr. Walsh, busts, senior year, 4 year seniors, a rose at graduation, seeing my family and friends stand up as a I make a speech...
I couldn't have said it better myself. In fact, I certainly couldn't have said it all, as there have apparently been quite a few new cultspeak terms that have been added to the roster over the years. For comment on this I choose to defer to Dr. Robert J. Lifton's Criteria For Thought Reform, it happens to be #6:
LOADING THE LANGUAGE
the language of the totalist environment is characterized by the
thought-terminating cliche (thought-stoppers)
repetitiously centered on all-encompassing jargon
"the language of non-thought"
words are given new meanings -- the outside world does not use the
words or phrases in the same way -- it becomes a "group" word or
phrase
http://fornits.com/anonanon/docs/lifton-criteria.txt (http://fornits.com/anonanon/docs/lifton-criteria.txt)
Oh, they still have "bing"? Gad, what awful memories that brings back! For the uninitiated, picture this: you are in seminar, and it is your turn to confess some Godawful sin, and you start out... tearfully... timidly... only to be beset by a chorus of "BING!!!"s because you are not speaking loud enough.
And, in closing:
To simplify it more: "I want to be a better _____". Practice and protocol aside, it boils down to that.
Yah, well, I want to be a better porcupine, but here I am stuck in this smelly mean-ole-polar-bear costume. Go figure. :lol:
Looking forward to your next post, Urs
-
Billy,
Disgruntled former students have been around ever since the dawn of Hyde. Nothing has been more constant in Hyde's history than disgruntled former students. It is a phenomenon, not a series of isolated events.
It is a big mistake to treat our criticisms as invalid. You take all our criticisms of the school --- of the brainwashing, the coercion, the misuse of punishments and rewards, the demoralization of the skeptics --- and dismiss them by calling them invalid. They are not invalid. Though it hurts, they may be and often are valid. If the criticism is valid, once you understand that it is, you can at least somehow address the problem. If you simply dismiss it as invalid, you cannot address the problem.
We all want to be better people, Billy. It is how Hyde tries to make us better people that makes us so disgruntled. In my view, the only reason that Hyde, its modus operandi, is not illegal is low public awareness. But paradoxically, that will change with the spread of Hyde Schools and with it the flow of information between mental health professionals, legislators, educators, jurists, and Hyde's disgruntled parents and students.
Mike
-
Billy,
After you have been out of Hyde for awhile things will start happening to you emotionally and mentally. Many of these symptoms will be subtle at first. IT is the post traumatic stress from adapting to a coercive environment. Hyde is practicing medicine without a license, Mental health is a medical issue. Hyde is screwing with your mind, winding it up like a spring. When you get out the spring may pop. Beware. I have seen it happen to some of the Leaders I went to school with. Billy , good luck. Remember a cult is like an onion. As you go through your senior year you will exposed to some of the inner layers. Please be skeptical. Remember this is your life. Hyde will take no responsibility if the thoughts they plant in your mind blow up. Like I say beware, some of the folks that did not and could not handle it are DEAD.
-
Billy,
Disgruntled former students have been around ever since the dawn of Hyde. Nothing has been more constant in Hyde's history than disgruntled former students. It is a phenomenon, not a series of isolated events.
It is a big mistake to treat our criticisms as invalid. You take all our criticisms of the school --- of the brainwashing, the coercion, the misuse of punishments and rewards, the demoralization of the skeptics --- and dismiss them by calling them invalid. They are not invalid. Though it hurts, they may be and often are valid. If the criticism is valid, once you understand that it is, you can at least somehow address the problem. If you simply dismiss it as invalid, you cannot address the problem.
We all want to be better people, Billy. It is how Hyde tries to make us better people that makes us so disgruntled. In my view, the only reason that Hyde, its modus operandi, is not illegal is low public awareness. But paradoxically, that will change with the spread of Hyde Schools and with it the flow of information between mental health professionals, legislators, educators, jurists, and Hyde's disgruntled parents and students.
Mike
You are so right, Mike. There is a widespread pattern of criticisms leveled at Hyde. There are lots of bad stories. Are there good stories, too? Sure. But people shouldn't dismiss the overwhelming, consistent pattern of bad stories. I couldn't agree more: Hyde gets away with this because for so long it has operated out of the public's view and scrutiny. The Internet, and this website, have changed that. Hyde has been "outed." I'm fine with public debate about Hyde. Let the proponents have their say. But, don't discount the critics. Much of what they have to say about Hyde's MO and destructive features is very valid.
Thanks, Mike.
-
Billy,
Disgruntled former students have been around ever since the dawn of Hyde. Nothing has been more constant in Hyde's history than disgruntled former students. It is a phenomenon, not a series of isolated events.
It is a big mistake to treat our criticisms as invalid. You take all our criticisms of the school --- of the brainwashing, the coercion, the misuse of punishments and rewards, the demoralization of the skeptics --- and dismiss them by calling them invalid. They are not invalid. Though it hurts, they may be and often are valid. If the criticism is valid, once you understand that it is, you can at least somehow address the problem. If you simply dismiss it as invalid, you cannot address the problem.
We all want to be better people, Billy. It is how Hyde tries to make us better people that makes us so disgruntled. In my view, the only reason that Hyde, its modus operandi, is not illegal is low public awareness. But paradoxically, that will change with the spread of Hyde Schools and with it the flow of information between mental health professionals, legislators, educators, jurists, and Hyde's disgruntled parents and students.
Mike
You are so right, Mike. There is a widespread pattern of criticisms leveled at Hyde. There are lots of bad stories. Are there good stories, too? Sure. But people shouldn't dismiss the overwhelming, consistent pattern of bad stories. I couldn't agree more: Hyde gets away with this because for so long it has operated out of the public's view and scrutiny. The Internet, and this website, have changed that. Hyde has been "outed." I'm fine with public debate about Hyde. Let the proponents have their say. But, don't discount the critics. Much of what they have to say about Hyde's MO and destructive features is very valid.
Thanks, Mike.
Beware of the dangers at Hyde School. I am a female former student who didn't do any of the things you are talking about in your posts Bill. I was a decent girl who had low self esteem and didn't get good grades. My Mother was talked into sending me there by my father who just wanted to get rid of me because his new wife didn't like having me around.
Hyde did little to build my self esteem and in fact they destroyed what little I had left. Hyde taught me to trust no one especially those in an authoritative position. Hyde exposed me to drugs and alcohol, (not that I never would have been) as well as bulimia and suicide. While at Hyde I also had to listen in family seminar's to insane stories by students and parents about crazy things that happened in their families including incese, homosexuality, etc. This was all so foreign to me, but thank you to Hyde I did get quite an education.
I came out of Hyde with all the above deep knowledge, but little of the education I needed to go forward in my life. One thing Hyde did not teach me was study skills, but thanks Hyde for all else you exposed me to and taught me! I don't think I could have gotten this anywhere else nor can you pay for an education like this.
P.S. I did leave Hyde and decide that I wanted more in life, so got myself that education and hate to even think about those years long ago at Hyde. God Bless the rest of you.
-
Urs, it's unfortunate all I can call you is that. That you must hide behind a mask, a fasade(probably not spelled right). I was really hoping you were a younger former student so the childish-ness could be easily accounted for. It's unfortunate you cannot see something from a somewhat-objective point of view because as I read your post, it's apparant the tone behind it.
All schools have lots of dirty laundry: even the Exiters, Tafts, and Blairs (i have a friend currently at one, my mom went to taft, and i have a cousin who was kicked out of there this year, if you think i'm throwing names around). Public, private, boarding, alternative schools all have dirty laundry. No school has it right though. Many tried, and yet, no one has it right. Including Hyde. Who wants to go through something really really hard for four years. I would have ended up this way eventually: but a lot later and the road would have been a lot worse had I gone to, let's say, my local public school NVOT. | had pretty good morals, a few loose screws back right before I came to Hyde. I was a good kid. Very rule-oriented for fear of punishment, but a good kid. The fear of punishment carried through the majority of being at Hyde. But I had no self-confidence, low self-esteem, no social skills to speak of. Being at Hyde, for me, gave me a new opportunity to try again. I didn't make a bunch of friends at Hyde right away. But Hyde did give me the opportunity, through the requirements it has, to build self-esteem (sports, academics with a combination of attitude and effort, the standard of having to have a clean room, having to get on stage and dacne). I did all the work. Hyde gave me a safe environment to do it. When I left Hyde this past summer and went to California to a program for 10 days (non Hyde related) with "real" kids...i did just fine. They gravitated towards me. Girls paid attention to me, guys thought I was a funny guy who had a good heart. Weird to me. And I knew it had paid off. There are other programs and schools that can help that. Hyde is one of them. If you put the right work attitude and mind set into it. Otherwise, it'll only take you so far. Hyde has many bad stories. Yea, so do other schools, but other than Aspen, Family Foundation, etc...the other ones on this site, I don't hear you complaining about your local school, your alma maters(is that right?). Brainwashing? Please, sir. I don't believe everything Hyde faculty tells me. I, unlike many parents and students I've seen through here in 4 years, listen, think about it, think about it later, than dismiss it if necessary, leaving grudges behind me. YES, EVERY ONCE AND AWHILE, I'LL STILL HAVE A SORE SPOT THAT I HAVE TO DEA LWITH LATER, but I don't go complain about it on a website with a one-way view, possibly an ignorant one, patronizing a teenager behind an anonymous nickname. Asking a higher up at hyde about what they think about this site(b/c they don't moniter it, but they do know about it and take a peek around every once and awhile) and he said (i'm paraphrasing)"I'm willing to have a conersation face-to-face or even over the phone. But I will not have a discussion under a mask of anonymity." So do the respectable thing. I've given tours to families who ask some of the kids that hate hyde the most what they thought. They didn't lie. But they weren't obnoxious or childish about it. They were like "I don't like it, but i know it's good for me" or "i'd rather be somewhere else" or "i'm looking at other schools for next year" or something like that. But many of you "guests" on this board are the type of kids like Matt Mumford who would yell as I pass with them "Don't send your kid here!" or "Turn back now!" or "Get out while you can!"
Again, to start, you need an objective view. I've always been an objective kid. I can put feelings aside and spurt what's right, not what I wnat to be right(most of the time, I have my situations here and there, I actually had one quite recently if you want to hear about it, shoot me an email). But seriously, grow up. Because putting smiley faces and patronizing people is what I did in grade school. Because by doing that, you're acting like Matt. And he was a boy trapped in an 18-year old's body.
-
gary eskow...i'd love to get your email, or maybe a phone number(but i understand if you don't want to put that up on the internet). if not, at least drop me an email at wprocida@hyde.edu.
-billy procida
-
gary eskow...i'd love to get your email, or maybe a phone number(but i understand if you don't want to put that up on the internet). if not, at least drop me an email at scribeny@aol.com (http://mailto:scribeny@aol.com)
www.garyeskow.com (http://www.garyeskow.com)
-
gary eskow...i'd love to get your email, or maybe a phone number(but i understand if you don't want to put that up on the internet). if not, at least drop me an email at scribeny@aol.com (http://mailto:scribeny@aol.com)
www.garyeskow.com (http://www.garyeskow.com)
Great that you are doing so well Billy. Truly I am happy for you, but lets get real Billy. Answer a few questions for us.
1) Is it ok for a Headmaster not to report a gang rape to authorities?
2) Is it ok for staff to humiliate, shame, intimidate and physically abuse a child in the name of "character education?"
3) After being diagnosed with a concussion and going to the hospital, is it ok not to check on this same kid all night and instead to put them on 2-4 the following morning?
4) Is it ok to let underage teens runaway into the night without doing ONE thing to stop them and make sure they are safe?
5) Is it ok to listen to kids talk about being so depressed that they want to commit suicide, yet not refer them to a professional psychologist?
6) Is it ok as a staff member and an example to 200 kids to get drunk at night in the dorm?
7) Is it ok for the owner of the school to have an affair with a student?
8) Is it ok to have a known pediphile on campus knowing the female students are afraid of him?
Oh Billy, I could go on and on but it is you that I believe is too immature and inexperienced to understand that this is not acceptable behavior for a school or staff who are responsible for kids safety. You won't understand this until you are a parent. I truly hope you print all of this out so in years to come you can look back on it and shake your head in disbelief as to how foolish you were. I think your heart is in the right place, but you don't have enough experience in life to understand what is being pointed out here.
Your parents should be proud of you. I can tell you are a good kid who is really trying to "raise the bar" for yourself and for that I admire you, but believe me you have a lot to learn about a school that has abusive practices and is a dangerous place for a child with true problems.
I would love to hear back from you in about 10 years. Oh, and by the way, don't kid yourself about Hyde and how little they read this site. I know for a fact that the big man over in Bath is a regular as well as many other faculty. Some think it is funny and others are happy to see some of what is written, some are not. There are those who are hoping this site will go away by not posting replys and defenses, but this is doubtful.
-
gary eskow...i'd love to get your email, or maybe a phone number(but i understand if you don't want to put that up on the internet). if not, at least drop me an email at scribeny@aol.com (http://mailto:scribeny@aol.com)
www.garyeskow.com (http://www.garyeskow.com)
Great that you are doing so well Billy. Truly I am happy for you, but lets get real Billy. Answer a few questions for us.
1) Is it ok for a Headmaster not to report a gang rape to authorities?
2) Is it ok for staff to humiliate, shame, intimidate and physically abuse a child in the name of "character education?"
3) After being diagnosed with a concussion and going to the hospital, is it ok not to check on this same kid all night and instead to put them on 2-4 the following morning?
4) Is it ok to let underage teens runaway into the night without doing ONE thing to stop them and make sure they are safe?
5) Is it ok to listen to kids talk about being so depressed that they want to commit suicide, yet not refer them to a professional psychologist?
6) Is it ok as a staff member and an example to 200 kids to get drunk at night in the dorm?
7) Is it ok for the owner of the school to have an affair with a student?
8) Is it ok to have a known pediphile on campus knowing the female students are afraid of him?
Oh Billy, I could go on and on but it is you that I believe is too immature and inexperienced to understand that this is not acceptable behavior for a school or staff who are responsible for kids safety. You won't understand this until you are a parent. I truly hope you print all of this out so in years to come you can look back on it and shake your head in disbelief as to how foolish you were. I think your heart is in the right place, but you don't have enough experience in life to understand what is being pointed out here.
Your parents should be proud of you. I can tell you are a good kid who is really trying to "raise the bar" for yourself and for that I admire you, but believe me you have a lot to learn about a school that has abusive practices and is a dangerous place for a child with true problems.
I would love to hear back from you in about 10 years. Oh, and by the way, don't kid yourself about Hyde and how little they read this site. I know for a fact that the big man over in Bath is a regular as well as many other faculty. Some think it is funny and others are happy to see some of what is written, some are not. There are those who are hoping this site will go away by not posting replys and defenses, but this is doubtful.
Billy, you are obviously not reading through many of these posts or you would see that Gary has invited many to contact him. I strongly suggest you read some of the posts from former students, faculty and parents to get a better idea about Hyde and some of the things you are not aware of that have been going on for years.
-
Hey Billy, I hope you are still enjoying your expedition to Europe and taking in all sorts of new sights and perspectives! I've been there four or five times myself, and have always enjoyed the change in scenery.
Urs, it's unfortunate all I can call you is that. That you must hide behind a mask, a fasade(probably not spelled right). I was really hoping you were a younger former student so the childish-ness could be easily accounted for. It's unfortunate you cannot see something from a somewhat-objective point of view because as I read your post, it's apparant the tone behind it.
I don't go complain about it on a website with a one-way view, possibly an ignorant one, patronizing a teenager behind an anonymous nickname. Asking a higher up at hyde about what they think about this site(b/c they don't moniter it, but they do know about it and take a peek around every once and awhile) and he said (i'm paraphrasing)"I'm willing to have a conersation face-to-face or even over the phone. But I will not have a discussion under a mask of anonymity."
If you actually read even a tiny tiny wee little bitty bit of the posts in this here Forum, Billy, you would never have been suffering the impression that we are each but a "teenager behind an anonymous nickname." As far as your impression of me is concerned, you really do not have to go back very far at all to learn that I am of your parents' generation and may, in fact, be even older than they are... This doesn't really concern me, of course; at my age it is a bit of a titillation to be mistaken for someone so much younger! :lol: :rofl: More importantly, it does very much point to your lack of "doing your homework", so to speak. That is, you come to this forum and lecture us loquaciously as to your greater wisdom about what Hyde is all about, I might even go so far as to add what Life is all about, yet you haven't even bothered to read about our side of the story. Put your money where your mouth is, Billy! ::poke::
As to the response you received from the "higher up" you consulted about this site, it sounds to me like a slick piece of chicanery: he was just trying to sidetrack you from giving any importance to this site yourself! The mindset he allegedly espoused is in the same league as the mindset of someone who claims "I only believe news story such-and-such if I hear it on one of the mainstream newscasts/read it in a mainstream press" or "I only buy brand name clothes/household goods; that is to say, only that which is status quo is worthy of my attention. Pahleez, what an impoverished world that would be!
CONSULT, v.i.
To seek another's disapproval of a course already decided on. http://www.alcyone.com/max/lit/devils/c.html (http://www.alcyone.com/max/lit/devils/c.html)
Most of the people who post on the Hyde School forum do so as Anons. Some of the Anons go a step further and attribute nicknames to their posts, though still as Anons. Very few of us post as Avatars. And extremely few of us take on/make no bones about our real life identities. We all have our reasons for this, and it really should not in any way reflect on the veracity of what we speak, or the integrity of our intentions. If we were just a hoodlum bunch of malcontented ne'er-do-wells, I hardly think you would have received the volume of concerned and thoughtful replies to your posts that you have. We could have easily blown you out of here with a juggernaut of ribald insults and character assassination.
The problem with using your (Hyde) email address, Billy, is that Hyde can, and probably does at this point, read your emails. If you had a separate email address, the likelihood that you would get some response from people here would increase. Unfortunately, therein is still the issue of the conveying of one's IP address, which some people have issues about. If you would feel up to taking on Avatar on this forum, you would have the option of private mailing other Avatars here (no IP address exchange), although, unfortunately, Anons cannot participate in that.
Don't like my smiley faces? Sorry to hear that. Sometimes they get the message across better than I can say in words. Sometimes I worry that my words may seem too harsh, but I feel they are too important to sanitize into a more palatable form. I try to convey my intentions of good will to you, Billy, in those hokey childish smiley faces; a sentiment that, I'm sure you'll agree, is hardly "childish" at all.
-Urs ::dove::
-
I've given tours to families who ask some of the kids that hate hyde the most what they thought. They didn't lie. But they weren't obnoxious or childish about it. They were like "I don't like it, but i know it's good for me" or "i'd rather be somewhere else" or "i'm looking at other schools for next year" or something like that. But many of you "guests" on this board are the type of kids like Matt Mumford who would yell as I pass with them "Don't send your kid here!" or "Turn back now!" or "Get out while you can!"
Billy,
Ursus probably goes under a pseudonym in an attempt to maintain the focus on the issues, as distinguished from personal attacks from those who are uncomfortable facing the issues.
I find myself comparing your honesty and objectivity to Matt Mumford's. Is Matt in London with you and the Hyde gang? This is a purely informative question, and not meant as a personal attack. Really, I am sympathetic to you. I remember that when my college roommate's mother heard that I was fresh out of Hyde and said to me "bad school," I came to Hyde's defense. You might take a look around this forum for my opinion of Hyde now.
Can I pick your brain? What are your thoughts on peer-enforced punishments and peer-enforced correction of "attitudes"?
Mike
-
I find myself comparing your honesty and objectivity to Matt Mumford's. Is Matt in London with you and the Hyde gang? This is a purely informative question, and not meant as a personal attack. Really, I am sympathetic to you. I remember that when my college roommate's mother heard that I was fresh out of Hyde and said to me "bad school," I came to Hyde's defense. You might take a look around this forum for my opinion of Hyde now.
Can I pick your brain? What are your thoughts on peer-enforced punishments and peer-enforced correction of "attitudes"?
Mike
No, Matt was not in London with us. He was kicked out earlier in the yer. If by "peer-enforced punishments" you mean something along a senior on a wing telling his wing that we're getting up at 5:30 the next morning to clean (an example of something I've done), it depends. Of course, there's the possibility of someone being spiteful. It's happened to me, I think. It's interesting, for break Mr. Rigney assigned all the seniors to read a book called "Difficult Conversations". Mostly stuff I already knew (there were many Hyde-ish parallels) but reworded to make me understand better. One point brought up was that one can not assume someone's intentions. As sure as we are about them. I'm struggling with my stance on that, but the book's right next to me and it was a thought. On peer-enforced punishment, umm...I feel there's a spectrum of appropriateness and that there needs to be an initial trust that we're all looking out for each other's bests and that's all of our motivations. Of course that's not true though. That trust will be violated, just like your best friend violated your trust one time...but eventually was forgiven. I've been skeptical of some enforcements, as some have questioned mine. When I see something I'm sketchy about, I'll either not be involved or help the person enforcing an accountability and then talk to them afterwards that I disagreed or how they could do it differently UNLESS i grossly disagree, then I pull the person aside (such as "George"(fake name, real person) on my wing has trouble with his highly immature higly energetic-when-he-doesn't-take-his-medication frehsman roommate on my wing. good kid. i like him. but he can get on one's last nerve rather quickly. a couple of times, i've seen "George"'s anger get the best of him and have seen him try to give an accountability where I grossly disagreed. in that case i intervene, ask "George" if i can talk to him for a minute outside. i get him to cool off, calm down, and take another look at the situation such as: his role, his roommate's role, and where his anger is playing the role of enforcer. then we go back in, talk it out, and reevaluate it. and it's fine. so to answer your question (sorry, i go on tangents), it really does depend on the circumstances and my judgment of it. if it's not a HUGE deal, i'm not going to cut down someone's leadership. if someone's arguing over 25 push-ups for being late to in-dorms(i've been guilty of that), and the person giving the accountability seems to have just happened to handle it a different way, i'm going to support him/her in that and then talk to them afterwards.
on peer-assessed evaluation of attitudes...i see it as SOMEONE else(as in another person over the age of maybe 13-14) seeing something in me. like i've said before, too many people take it as a personal attack. even if it is, i stop and look at it. if it MIGHT have some truth in it, i think about it later. then i either take it on or let it go. but i dont' usually get disgruntled and pissed off because someone thinks i have a bad attitude. even if their intentions are totally off, it could still be true. message and messanger. you know the saying. i know, it's hard. sometimes i struggle with it as well.
let's pick away. because if anything i say can clarify what we really do here(especially now, remember this place(i mean woodstock) is SO much different this year than the other years, as i've stated before. and many really need to open their thoughts about a bit more under this new circumstance. i've had to as well.).
btw...europe was awesome. although i'm a bit jetlagged and underslept, it was a fun trip. i still can't believe i wen to the friggin top of the eiffel tower.
- Bill Procida '07
-
Sorry, guys, formatting issues will be properly resolved later tonight.
-
I find myself comparing your honesty and objectivity to Matt Mumford's. Is Matt in London with you and the Hyde gang? This is a purely informative question, and not meant as a personal attack. Really, I am sympathetic to you. I remember that when my college roommate's mother heard that I was fresh out of Hyde and said to me "bad school," I came to Hyde's defense. You might take a look around this forum for my opinion of Hyde now.
Can I pick your brain? What are your thoughts on peer-enforced punishments and peer-enforced correction of attitudes"
Mike
No, Matt was not in London with us. He was kicked out earlier in the yer. If by "peer-enforced punishments" you mean something along a senior on a wing telling his wing that we're getting up at 5:30 the next morning to clean (an example of something I've done), it depends. Of course, there's the possibility of someone being spiteful. It's happened to me, I think. It's interesting, for break Mr. Rigney assigned all the seniors to read a book called "Difficult Conversations". Mostly stuff I already knew (there were many Hyde-ish parallels) but reworded to make me understand better. One point brought up was that one can not assume someone's intentions. As sure as we are about them. I'm struggling with my stance on that, but the book's right next to me and it was a thought. On peer-enforced punishment, umm...I feel there's a spectrum of appropriateness and that there needs to be an initial trust that we're all looking out for each other's bests and that's all of our motivations. Of course that's not true though. That trust will be violated, just like your best friend violated your trust one time...but eventually was forgiven. I've been skeptical of some enforcements, as some have questioned mine. When I see something I'm sketchy about, I'll either not be involved or help the person enforcing an accountability and then talk to them afterwards that I disagreed or how they could do it differently UNLESS i grossly disagree, then I pull the person aside (such as "George"(fake name, real person) on my wing has trouble with his highly immature higly energetic-when-he-doesn't-take-his-medication frehsman roommate on my wing. good kid. i like him. but he can get on one's last nerve rather quickly. a couple of times, i've seen "George"'s anger get the best of him and have seen him try to give an accountability where I grossly disagreed. in that case i intervene, ask "George" if i can talk to him for a minute outside. i get him to cool off, calm down, and take another look at the situation such as: his role, his roommate's role, and where his anger is playing the role of enforcer. then we go back in, talk it out, and reevaluate it. and it's fine. so to answer your question (sorry, i go on tangents), it really does depend on the circumstances and my judgment of it. if it's not a HUGE deal, i'm not going to cut down someone's leadership. if someone's arguing over 25 push-ups for being late to in-dorms(i've been guilty of that), and the person giving the accountability seems to have just happened to handle it a different way, i'm going to support him/her in that and then talk to them afterwards.
on peer-assessed evaluation of attitudes...i see it as SOMEONE else(as in another person over the age of maybe 13-14) seeing something in me. like i've said before, too many people take it as a personal attack. even if it is, i stop and look at it. if it MIGHT have some truth in it, i think about it later. then i either take it on or let it go. but i dont' usually get disgruntled and pissed off because someone thinks i have a bad attitude. even if their intentions are totally off, it could still be true. message and messanger. you know the saying. i know, it's hard. sometimes i struggle with it as well.
let's pick away. because if anything i say can clarify what we really do here(especially now, remember this place(i mean woodstock) is SO much different this year than the other years, as i've stated before. and many really need to open their thoughts about a bit more under this new circumstance. i've had to as well.).
btw...europe was awesome. although i'm a bit jetlagged and underslept, it was a fun trip. i still can't believe i wen to the friggin top of the eiffel tower.
- Bill Procida '07
Bill,
Let me start by saying how impressed I am by your courage. You?ve come right into the lions? den. I?m also impressed by Hyde?s courage in allowing you to participate in this forum. Respectfully, then, I submit my rejoinder.
My immediate impression is that your results are skewed. From the point of view of criminology and penology, your examples of peer-enforced punishment are at the bottom of the ladder; they do not even entail legal action. Similarly, your examples of peer evaluations (?truth over harmony?) present them in the best light. But I'll play along, because a strong case can be made even against them.
I would characterize 'truth over harmony' as a desire for obedience, which expresses itself in various forms of intensity: screaming, cursing, reviling, and least of all rebuking. Its essence is a violent and combative emotion, even when the result does not inflict damage.
Consider your example of rebuke. This belongs to the class of transgressions in which there is no action. You might suppose that I, in urging you not to rebuke a fellow student, am moved by the shame and the pain that your words would cause him when he heard them. But I am concerned not only with the one who is rebuked, but also with the one who rebukes, who should not be intolerant and hot-tempered. My concern is ethical, control and catharsis of one?s emotions, as well as practical, prevention of harm to one's fellow man; it is, therefore, concerned with the confronter as well as the confronted.
It is along such lines that I justify a general prohibition against presuming to rebuke a fellow student. And although you will not be punished for it, still such conduct indicates an exceedingly bad disposition. One should rather practice forbearance in all everyday matters. For the intelligent realize that these are trivial things and not worth seeking confrontation over. This prohibition is thus designed not only to promote courtesy or civility to others, but also to cultivate moral perfection, to develop a transcendent perspective which makes pettiness and arrogance self-evidently foolish.
I would argue a fortiori against peer-enforced punishments that do not consist of words only. Getting back to your reply, you say that sometimes you question the fairness of this or that punishment. Such criticisms are more local and superficial than I hoped for. Actually, I was hoping that you could explain to me the necessity for peer-enforced punishment at all. Of what value is it to the child who punishes? To the child who is punished? As a parent, I would be deeply troubled by the knowledge that my child was being educated to mete out punishments to his peers?or to accept punishments from his peers, for that matter.
Mike
-
By getting kids to focus on the "local and superficial," they are stifling focus on the bigger and broader picture. I have always found it most remarkable that, not only is the impetus to nurture critical thinking utterly absent at Hyde, it is downright squelched when but a hint dares venture forth...
Oh, yeah, what am I talking about...
-
By getting kids to focus on the "local and superficial," they are stifling focus on the bigger and broader picture. I have always found it most remarkable that, not only is the impetus to nurture critical thinking utterly absent at Hyde, it is downright squelched when but a hint dares venture forth...
Oh, yeah, what am I talking about...
"crtitical thinking" and Hyde do not belong in the same sentence. When I was at Hyde there was absolutely no permission to think critically in a truly constructive way. I saw lots of criticism, but not critical thinking. I saw lots of group think, but not critical thinking. Truly independent thinking? Not at Hyde. Nearly everytime I tried to assert my independent views I was told that I had to use terms that were in the Hyde dictionary and no others. If I didn't speak like a Hyde robot it didn't count. So much for critical thinking.
-
Getting back to your reply, you say that sometimes you question the fairness of this or that punishment. Such criticisms are more local and superficial than I hoped for. Actually, I was hoping that you could explain to me the necessity for peer-enforced punishment at all. Of what value is it to the child who punishes? To the child who is punished? As a parent, I would be deeply troubled by the knowledge that my child was being educated to mete out punishments to his peers?or to accept punishments from his peers, for that matte
Well, Mike, at least he tried to answer one of your questions. It seems that each and every one of us (outside of you) has batted a big fat zero with Billy. Moreover, it certainly appears that he hasn't bothered to peruse this forum one wee bit. I wonder just how much that has to do with his coaching.
-
...let's pick away. because if anything i say can clarify what we really do here(especially now, remember this place(i mean woodstock) is SO much different this year than the other years, as i've stated before. and many really need to open their thoughts about a bit more under this new circumstance. i've had to as well.).
Okay, let's pick away. Let's assume a leopard can REALLY change its spots in a matter of one (1) year. What would you say are the major areas of "change" in Hyde's (Woodstock) operation relative to last year at this time
-
trying the optional (y) because apparantly it might be good for me to try going by bill to grow up. i'm giving it a trial run.
ursus, i know it's hard to believe, but i've gone through a similar over-the-summer change. i went from not going out at all, still feeling awkward around new people, and not getting a taste of "regular-outside-of-hyde teenage experiences". but last spring break and this summer, i did turn it around. i got out of myself, got over my fear of meeting new people, and ended up being able to walk into any new group and usually get an extremely positive reaction. i went to american university for an overnight visit with a friend of mine who graduated here my freshman year. her sorority was hosting their crush party of the semester the night i was there. i went, and they loved me.
so has hyde WOODSTOCK(i can not attest for bath whatsoever) made this kind of change. laura gauld, although i may hate her being as conservative as she is (she killed halloween, isn't big on letting us chest paint at basketball games, and no limos at prom this year), she has changed things for this campus for the better, things dunc just couldn't do. between strategical moves such as changing the energy of campus pattern by switching the dorms and the student-run store locations, as well as changing faculty spots (like Kevin folan being the new dean from bath), and the way things like Senior Evals are being done. there's much more of a positive vibe on campus now-a-days. part of that has to do with the Hyde @ 40 campaign. since we recieved moeny from that, there was less of a pressure to have a bunch acceptances by accpeting some kids that definitely weren't ready for hyde yet or kids that needed somethign different. because let's face it, logistically, you need to have kids to have the school, and when you're a young school, exceptions are made to start yourself. so now we have the same amount of kids at this point in the year, even tough we started with a less-than-usual number. and that was fine. we've had more willing participants. as a matter of fact, we have had the least amount of withdrawls at this point in the year out of my four years here. i believe the number's 15 or under. it's great. and so the campus has changed, as hard as it is to believe.
a fellow senior the other night, while talking to a few about my frustration of other people seeing me the way i used to be, said "you can't pull an Amy Farkas change overnight and expect people to believe you right away." (an amy farkas change means making a drastic change in a positive way with yourself in a very short period of time, such as a summer, and in her case, in terms of self-respect and acting more like an independent woman.) i think that's valid here. it is understandable that it's hard to believe that woodstock's changed that much in a summer, but it has. but i can see why people would be skeptical. on top of that, i feel we've had less (not none, just less) of those incidents that are GROSSLY mishandled. it happens (here and any other school where human beings are in charge), but it's been less this year. any other questions i'll answer, but please be patient with time. i've only just gotten on since coming back from break.
also, laura gauld said "bill...i heard you're fighting the good fight on the fornits website." she probably heard from warnick, who i was talking to about my frustrations about some of the posters onthe site. i have a problem with this. because i'm not trying to fight anyone, but rather, to educate and inform. because i'm the one that's here right now. i know the changes that have been made. i know what's different from the other 3 years. i know the GOOD and the BAD. and i'm not afraid to say the bad, but i will not hesitate to say what's good. i am someone who has finally come up with his own principles and has altered the tools(the words, principles, philosophies of hyde) hyde as given me into what i personally believe. not all of it corresponds with hyde. and that's okay. i feel i take a pretty objective view. and that's why i post. not to fight. and i will be telling her the same thing i'm telling ya'll. because i dont' want to be thought of as hyde's foot soldier. but i am a supporter of what a STUDENT can do (not what the school can do, b/c without a somewhat willing participant, there's only so much we can do) here for themselves. ahhh....i'm glad i got that off my chest. that's been bugging me the last few days.
asides from this, i'm really hyped. i got into my number one school: New York University!!!!!!@!@!@! so i've been excited about that. trying to find time for it, i've read about a page and a half to 2 pages of gary eskow's paper. i'm working on it.
- Bill(y) Procida '07 NYU class of '11!!!
-
trying the optional (y) because apparantly it might be good for me to try going by bill to grow up. i'm giving it a trial run.
ursus, i know it's hard to believe, but i've gone through a similar over-the-summer change. i went from not going out at all, still feeling awkward around new people, and not getting a taste of "regular-outside-of-hyde teenage experiences". but last spring break and this summer, i did turn it around. i got out of myself, got over my fear of meeting new people, and ended up being able to walk into any new group and usually get an extremely positive reaction. i went to american university for an overnight visit with a friend of mine who graduated here my freshman year. her sorority was hosting their crush party of the semester the night i was there. i went, and they loved me.
so has hyde WOODSTOCK(i can not attest for bath whatsoever) made this kind of change. laura gauld, although i may hate her being as conservative as she is (she killed halloween, isn't big on letting us chest paint at basketball games, and no limos at prom this year), she has changed things for this campus for the better, things dunc just couldn't do. between strategical moves such as changing the energy of campus pattern by switching the dorms and the student-run store locations, as well as changing faculty spots (like Kevin folan being the new dean from bath), and the way things like Senior Evals are being done. there's much more of a positive vibe on campus now-a-days. part of that has to do with the Hyde @ 40 campaign. since we recieved moeny from that, there was less of a pressure to have a bunch acceptances by accpeting some kids that definitely weren't ready for hyde yet or kids that needed somethign different. because let's face it, logistically, I want you to have kids to have the school, and when you're a young school, exceptions are made to start yourself. so now we have the same amount of kids at this point in the year, even tough we started with a less-than-usual number. and that was fine. we've had more willing participants. as a matter of fact, we have had the least amount of withdrawls at this point in the year out of my four years here. i believe the number's 15 or under. it's great. and so the campus has changed, as hard as it is to believe.
a fellow senior the other night, while talking to a few about my frustration of other people seeing me the way i used to be, said "you can't pull an Amy Farkas change overnight and expect people to believe you right away." (an amy farkas change means making a drastic change in a positive way with yourself in a very short period of time, such as a summer, and in her case, in terms of self-respect and acting more like an independent woman.) i think that's valid here. it is understandable that it's hard to believe that woodstock's changed that much in a summer, but it has. but i can see why people would be skeptical. on top of that, i feel we've had less (not none, just less) of those incidents that are GROSSLY mishandled. it happens (here and any other school where human beings are in charge), but it's been less this year. any other questions i'll answer, but please be patient with time. i've only just gotten on since coming back from break.
also, laura gauld said "bill...i heard you're fighting the good fight on the fornits website." she probably heard from warnick, who i was talking to about my frustrations about some of the posters onthe site. i have a problem with this. because i'm not trying to fight anyone, but rather, to educate and inform. because i'm the one that's here right now. i know the changes that have been made. i know what's different from the other 3 years. i know the GOOD and the BAD. and i'm not afraid to say the bad, but i will not hesitate to say what's good. i am someone who has finally come up with his own principles and has altered the tools(the words, principles, philosophies of hyde) hyde as given me into what i personally believe. not all of it corresponds with hyde. and that's okay. i feel i take a pretty objective view. and that's why i post. not to fight. and i will be telling her the same thing i'm telling ya'll. because i dont' want to be thought of as hyde's foot soldier. but i am a supporter of what a STUDENT can do (not what the school can do, b/c without a somewhat willing participant, there's only so much we can do) here for themselves. ahhh....i'm glad i got that off my chest. that's been bugging me the last few days.
asides from this, i'm really hyped. i got into my number one school: New York University!!!!!!@!@!@! so i've been excited about that. trying to find time for it, i've read about a page and a half to 2 pages of gary eskow's paper. i'm working on it.
- Bill(y) Procida '07 NYU class of '11!!!
Good for you. I'm pleased for you and applaud your good story.
But I know for a fact that there are lots of very bad stories that come out of Hyde. I've lost count of the number of Hyde students who have left or gotten booted out, had a hard time in college and dropped out, relapsed, etc. Granted, sometimes this was the result of the students' bad behavior and, as Hyde likes to say, attitude.. But I know a bunch of kids who started at Hyde with real serious problems (emotional and drug) that were completely mishandled by Hyde. Hyde is like a dinosaur compared to other schools I know that take the same kind of kid. I'm glad it has worked for you. Unfortunately that doesn't make up for the large number of Hyde disasters. And, believe me, Hyde has lots of disasters it needs to account for.
-
[laura gauld said "bill...i heard you're fighting the good fight on the fornits website." she probably heard from warnick, who i was talking to about my frustrations about some of the posters onthe site.[/quote]
Good for you. I'm pleased for you and applaud your good story.
But I know for a fact that there are lots of very bad stories that come out of Hyde. I've lost count of the number of Hyde students who have left or gotten booted out, had a hard time in college and dropped out, relapsed, etc. Granted, sometimes this was the result of the students' bad behavior and, as Hyde likes to say, attitude.. But I know a bunch of kids who started at Hyde with real serious problems (emotional and drug) that were completely mishandled by Hyde. Hyde is like a dinosaur compared to other schools I know that take the same kind of kid. I'm glad it has worked for you. Unfortunately that doesn't make up for the large number of Hyde disasters. And, believe me, Hyde has lots of disasters it needs to account for.[/quote]
So, Laura Gauld and somebody named Warnick are concerned about this web site. I guess we now have their attention. I wonder if any of the widespread criticism of Hyde concerns them? It ought to. I can't imagine Hyde ever expected this public relations nightmare. Is there any chance Hyde will take a hard look at itself as a result?
-
So, Laura Gauld and somebody named Warnick are concerned about this web site. I guess we now have their attention. I wonder if any of the widespread criticism of Hyde concerns them? It ought to. I can't imagine Hyde ever expected this public relations nightmare. Is there any chance Hyde will take a hard look at itself as a result?
I most seriously doubt it. Historically, the way repressive institutions and regimes have usually dealt with the discontent from the rabble-rousing indigents has been through a policy of benign neglect. Hyde is no different. They believe that people will spill their guts until they get it out of their system and are too depleted of emotional energy to continue.
My impression from going back through the threads is that it would appear most people come here and usually vent for about 100 posts or so, if they are truly outraged enough, and then go on with their lives, occasionally returning from time to time. Very few people stick around for much longer than a year. Although this would appear to comport with Hyde's preferred stance, it also does speak volumes, literally, of the number of people unhappy, not too mention traumatized, by Hyde's treatment of them or their children.
-
hyde faculty and administrators have been knowing. they don't really care much, honestly. i think they should care a little though. and look through. not to see the bad publicity and worry about it. trust me, they're not worried. and nothing you say will. because many of you(not all, but looking through other threads, i see a trend)there are many disrespectful and immature posts that wouldn't bother anyone. but there are some legit pieces of feedback some could get from this.
yes, there are PLENTY of inappropriate stories from hyde. along with many other schools, many of which have a forum on fornits. ask people what goes on at Swift River or the Family Foundation school. worse worse things happen there more often. like i said in the last post, grossly mishandled situations have decreased tremendously this year. the other 3 years i've been here, there were many bad situations handled badly by parents, students, and faculty. hyde admins and people know about the situations. they work on some, and sweep others under the rug. no school does it right, unfortunately.
today during Senior Evals, which we've kind of started, LG brought up how she didn't know what kind of graduate each of us would be. and that she's spoken with graduates and students who have left hyde. some were bad convos, some great. but she will talk to you. she's not mccraan. but it's hard to take seriously those that bash hyde on the internet under anonymous names because they are not proud of what they say here. i've heard people say on here "you don't want others to be able to find what you say on here" well then don't post it. be proud of what you say. raise your hand high or not at all. raise it like you're proud of it. and if you're not, don't say it.
and as for something on another thread about hyde only posting the good things about themselves in terms of parent surveys and what not...what school, company, etc. posts negative comments about themselves as publicity? (except the movie "Jackass"). honestly, expect something realistic please.
and as i say now, i've said before, and many times...it's different this year. please be a little more open.
- Bill(y) Procida '07 NYU '11
-
it's hard to take seriously those that bash hyde on the internet under anonymous names because they are not proud of what they say here. i've heard people say on here "you don't want others to be able to find what you say on here" well then don't post it. be proud of what you say. raise your hand high or not at all. raise it like you're proud of it. and if you're not, don't say it.
- Bill(y) Procida '07 NYU '11
Employers are now googling candidates. Nobody wants their name to come up in connection with a place like Hyde. I posted quite a bit about a year ago and pretty much got everything off my chest that I wanted to. I had no desire to engage anyone at Hyde in any sort of dialogue - although that did, to an extent, occur. Frankly, I couldn't care less what Hyde thinks at this point. And I don't care whether they're concerned about the negative publicity or not. The anonymity of the internet is a wonderful thing when writing about the traumatic experiences of the past.
It may be hard for you to take seriously any Hyde bashing that doesn't include someone's actual name, but rest assured, people do. Too much of it obviously comes from the heart and most people do understand why people don't put their real name on internet boards. If you're not willing to give it any credence, well, that's not our problem and I hate to break it you, but no one gives a shit. We played by Hyde's rules when they controlled the dialogue. Now they have to live with discussions in forums where they can't control things. Maybe it concerns them, maybe it doesn't (I have it on good authority they they are indeed quite concerned). But that's the way it goes.
Best of luck to you, NYU's a great school!
-
Hi Billy, sorry I wasn't able to address your post more specifically earlier, but something came up... Congratulations on getting into NYU! :tup: I'm sure you will have a lot of fun and your world will surely open up immensely being in NYC. I used to work a bit north of the main campus, a block from Union Square, as well just west in the Village, on 11th and 4th. I have many fond memories of that time...
i am someone who has finally come up with his own principles and has altered the tools(the words, principles, philosophies of hyde) hyde as given me into what i personally believe. not all of it corresponds with hyde. and that's okay. i feel i take a pretty objective view.
I have concerns about your post which stem from your focus on relatively petty issues as being proof or at least indication of your ability to see things more objectively... Issues such as Laura Gauld's "kill{ing} halloween, {not being} big on letting us chest paint at basketball games, and no{t allowing} limos at prom this year" are hardly elements at the core of Hyde's so-called "philosophy." My disappointment is along the same lines as Mike's, when you responded to his question regarding elements of policy and personal thoughts relevant to "Brother's Keeper," i.e., peers passing judgment on and meting out punishment on each other.
You claim that you don't agree with everything, that you pick and choose as you see fit as per what sits right with you, but by and large, it really looks like you've swallowed the whole spiel, kit-and-kaboodle, hook, line, and sinker. This is why Laura Gauld is so proud of you, why she tells you, "bill...i heard you're fighting the good fight on the fornits website." She understands full well the reason you are here, which you put so eloquently as "to educate and inform." You really are, as far as Hyde is concerned, "hyde's foot soldier."
And with regard to Hyde's having changed tremendously this past year: I am sure that they have made improvements, some of which you enumerated, but again, my same comment as earlier... I find you are focusing unduly on minor details as the basis for your proof. Putting an additional spot here and there does not change the leopard's overall pattern.
trying to find time for it, i've read about a page and a half to 2 pages of gary eskow's paper. i'm working on it.
Good show, Billy! Your efforts are appreciated. Do peruse the threads here a bit as well, you might find it enlightening, and you might also find some more material to continue "fighting the good fight on the fornits website." Kind regards, Urs :em:
-
...it's hard to take seriously those that bash hyde on the internet under anonymous names because they are not proud of what they say here. i've heard people say on here "you don't want others to be able to find what you say on here" well then don't post it. be proud of what you say. raise your hand high or not at all. raise it like you're proud of it. and if you're not, don't say it.
I beg to differ. I'm proud of what I say, and I stand behind my words. And if I find that I am wrong about something, I will acknowledge that and apologize for it. Billy, you're not even 20 years old and you are expounding on pride and accountability like you are some world-weary sage who actually has some idea about potential consequences. Who are you to judge? Are you financially responsible for a family's welfare and continued existence? Moreover, it isn't always employment that some people are concerned about. Some of us have been through circumstances that are so traumatic it is difficult to even see it in print, let alone have our names associated with our experience.
You have thus far lived a very spoiled and protected existence with any and all significant concerns taken care of you by your parents. People have reasons for their desire for privacy and it is not up to them to have to prove them to you. It's supposed to be a free world. We all know it isn't, really, but we'll take the freedoms that we can get. I hate to bash you too hard, after all, you're still such a young guy, but growing up has a lot more to do with developing a capacity for empathy than it does with the spelling of your name. If you want to raise your hand that high, why don't you take on an avatar? God knows, you'll find it a lot easier to negotiate your posts.
And I have to say this: There is absolutely no equating the life-altering soul-denigrating DISRESPECT, not to mention horrendous ABUSE, that Hyde has shoved down the throats of countless individuals over the years, with some penny ante venting on some website. For shame, to even consider said sins in the same sentence!
Cheers.
-
I posted quite a bit about a year ago and pretty much got everything off my chest that I wanted to.
Did I misspeak in my earlier post? If so, I apologize! :lol: -Urs
-
I posted quite a bit about a year ago and pretty much got everything off my chest that I wanted to.
Did I misspeak in my earlier post? If so, I apologize! :lol: -Urs
No, I'm a different guy, I used to post under the name "Lars." I tried signing on and the site wouldn't take my old password, so it's just under the heading of "guest." I'm a Hyde grad who let loose here a while back and now just check things out on occassion.
-
...it's hard to take seriously those that bash hyde on the internet under anonymous names because they are not proud of what they say here. i've heard people say on here "you don't want others to be able to find what you say on here" well then don't post it. be proud of what you say. raise your hand high or not at all. raise it like you're proud of it. and if you're not, don't say it.
I beg to differ. I'm proud of what I say, and I stand behind my words. And if I find that I am wrong about something, I will acknowledge that and apologize for it. Billy, you're not even 20 years old and you are expounding on pride and accountability like you are some world-weary sage who actually has some idea about potential consequences. Who are you to judge? Are you financially responsible for a family's welfare and continued existence? Moreover, it isn't always employment that some people are concerned about. Some of us have been through circumstances that are so traumatic it is difficult to even see it in print, let alone have our names associated with our experience.
You have thus far lived a very spoiled and protected existence with any and all significant concerns taken care of you by your parents. People have reasons for their desire for privacy and it is not up to them to have to prove them to you. It's supposed to be a free world. We all know it isn't, really, but we'll take the freedoms that we can get. I hate to bash you too hard, after all, you're still such a young guy, but growing up has a lot more to do with developing a capacity for empathy than it does with the spelling of your name. If you want to raise your hand that high, why don't you take on an avatar? God knows, you'll find it a lot easier to negotiate your posts.
And I have to say this: There is absolutely no equating the life-altering soul-denigrating DISRESPECT, not to mention horrendous ABUSE, that Hyde has shoved down the throats of countless individuals over the years, with some penny ante venting on some website. For shame, to even consider said sins in the same sentence!
Cheers.
I don't doubt that Billy makes some valid points about positive changes at Hyde. But the changes he describes strike me as changes on the margins and at the edges. The kind of change that is required in order for Hyde to be a place worth sending a kid goes FAR beyond what Billy is describing. The destructive and abusive roots at Hyde run very deep, indeed, and they travel across decades. Until Hyde scraps arrogant administrators like Joe Gauld, rids itself of the school's inexperienced and unskilled teachers, abandons the emotional head trips that staff lay on students and parents in those ineptly run seminars and FLC's, and toss out that silly Hyde doublespeak that's completely empty when uttered by hypocritical staff (Hyde's principles and ideals), NO one should enroll at the school.
-
trying the optional (y) because apparantly it might be good for me to try going by bill to grow up. i'm giving it a trial run.
ursus, i know it's hard to believe, but i've gone through a similar over-the-summer change. i went from not going out at all, still feeling awkward around new people, and not getting a taste of "regular-outside-of-hyde teenage experiences". but last spring break and this summer, i did turn it around. i got out of myself, got over my fear of meeting new people, and ended up being able to walk into any new group and usually get an extremely positive reaction. i went to american university for an overnight visit with a friend of mine who graduated here my freshman year. her sorority was hosting their crush party of the semester the night i was there. i went, and they loved me.
so has hyde WOODSTOCK(i can not attest for bath whatsoever) made this kind of change. laura gauld, although i may hate her being as conservative as she is (she killed halloween, isn't big on letting us chest paint at basketball games, and no limos at prom this year), she has changed things for this campus for the better, things dunc just couldn't do. between strategical moves such as changing the energy of campus pattern by switching the dorms and the student-run store locations, as well as changing faculty spots (like Kevin folan being the new dean from bath), and the way things like Senior Evals are being done. there's much more of a positive vibe on campus now-a-days. part of that has to do with the Hyde @ 40 campaign. since we recieved moeny from that, there was less of a pressure to have a bunch acceptances by accpeting some kids that definitely weren't ready for hyde yet or kids that needed somethign different. because let's face it, logistically, I want you to have kids to have the school, and when you're a young school, exceptions are made to start yourself. so now we have the same amount of kids at this point in the year, even tough we started with a less-than-usual number. and that was fine. we've had more willing participants. as a matter of fact, we have had the least amount of withdrawls at this point in the year out of my four years here. i believe the number's 15 or under. it's great. and so the campus has changed, as hard as it is to believe.
a fellow senior the other night, while talking to a few about my frustration of other people seeing me the way i used to be, said "you can't pull an Amy Farkas change overnight and expect people to believe you right away." (an amy farkas change means making a drastic change in a positive way with yourself in a very short period of time, such as a summer, and in her case, in terms of self-respect and acting more like an independent woman.) i think that's valid here. it is understandable that it's hard to believe that woodstock's changed that much in a summer, but it has. but i can see why people would be skeptical. on top of that, i feel we've had less (not none, just less) of those incidents that are GROSSLY mishandled. it happens (here and any other school where human beings are in charge), but it's been less this year. any other questions i'll answer, but please be patient with time. i've only just gotten on since coming back from break.
also, laura gauld said "bill...i heard you're fighting the good fight on the fornits website." she probably heard from warnick, who i was talking to about my frustrations about some of the posters onthe site. i have a problem with this. because i'm not trying to fight anyone, but rather, to educate and inform. because i'm the one that's here right now. i know the changes that have been made. i know what's different from the other 3 years. i know the GOOD and the BAD. and i'm not afraid to say the bad, but i will not hesitate to say what's good. i am someone who has finally come up with his own principles and has altered the tools(the words, principles, philosophies of hyde) hyde as given me into what i personally believe. not all of it corresponds with hyde. and that's okay. i feel i take a pretty objective view. and that's why i post. not to fight. and i will be telling her the same thing i'm telling ya'll. because i dont' want to be thought of as hyde's foot soldier. but i am a supporter of what a STUDENT can do (not what the school can do, b/c without a somewhat willing participant, there's only so much we can do) here for themselves. ahhh....i'm glad i got that off my chest. that's been bugging me the last few days.
asides from this, i'm really hyped. i got into my number one school: New York University!!!!!!@!@!@! so i've been excited about that. trying to find time for it, i've read about a page and a half to 2 pages of gary eskow's paper. i'm working on it.
- Bill(y) Procida '07 NYU class of '11!!!
First of all Billy, congrats on getting accepted to NYU. You seem to be a very sincere and well meaning young guy. I live in NY and it is a great place especially for young people around the NYU campus.
Although I understand where you are coming from, I disagree (strongly) with the kinds of changes you think have been made around Hyde. What struck me was the comment about many of the grossly mishandled incidences. The Gauld family are at the helm and as long as they are there, "grossly mishandled incidences" WILL continue as "grossly mishandled incidences." Come on Billy, who do you think makes the final decisions at Hyde? It is someone from the Gauld family and if they were mishandled by them previously, then they will continue to be because the Gauld family has not changed their mind set.
You say that they read the site and are not concerned. If they read this site then why will they not answer some of the questions posed to them? I tried to have a conversation with them by phone and tried to get them to apologize for the "grossly mishandled incident" concerning someone and guess what? They weren't interested in talking about it. Only the typical "hyde speak" as though they are on some kind of drug that makes them talk this way.
I don't want to have to tell you that you are naive Billy, but you are naive. You are going through changes in your life that have nothing to do with Hyde. Your self discovery would have happened whether you were at Hyde or not and for that you should be proud. Only time and experiences mature us, not a Cult Leader who preaches as though he is the eternal God. You might be a big fan of Laura Gauld, but believe me she is from the same batch of koolaide only a different flavor.
-
I posted quite a bit about a year ago and pretty much got everything off my chest that I wanted to.
Did I misspeak in my earlier post? If so, I apologize! :lol: -Urs
No, I'm a different guy, I used to post under the name "Lars." I tried signing on and the site wouldn't take my old password, so it's just under the heading of "guest." I'm a Hyde grad who let loose here a while back and now just check things out on occassion.
Hi Lars, I'm SO glad you are still around! I've admired so very much that you have said in your earlier posts! :tup:
Try chucking your cookies first and then retry. There have been a series of changes here regarding the system and the server and old cookies won't work. Alternatively, try contacting admin via email: kelly@fornits.com and they can reopen your account so you can reset your password.
-
I posted quite a bit about a year ago and pretty much got everything off my chest that I wanted to.
Did I misspeak in my earlier post? If so, I apologize! :lol: -Urs
No, I'm a different guy, I used to post under the name "Lars." I tried signing on and the site wouldn't take my old password, so it's just under the heading of "guest." I'm a Hyde grad who let loose here a while back and now just check things out on occassion.
Hi Lars, I'm SO glad you are still around! I've admired so very much that you have said in your earlier posts! :tup:
Try chucking your cookies first and then retry. There have been a series of changes here regarding the system and the server and old cookies won't work. Alternatively, try contacting admin via email: kelly@fornits.com and they can reopen your account so you can reset your password.
I too have had trouble on the site but find that when I use Internet Explorer it goes through fine. I have already contacted Ginger and Kelly about this problem.
I too welcome you back Lars. Please don't disappear again. Your posts help others who have been wounded by Hyde even if that is not your priority. Many times someone will research Hyde before sending their kids there. I think it is important to make sure others don't go through what we did! We can help by continuing to post
-
Billy, Someone has posted a list of questions for Hyde on the "my expereince" thread. Please take a look at them if you haven't already. Thanks.