Treatment Abuse, Behavior Modification, Thought Reform > Hyde Schools

Concerned parent

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stepatwill:
Our son has struggled academically his first 2 years of high school. We hired an educational consultant to help us and Hyde is one of the schools we are considering. I have read the glossy brouchres, talked to the school, listened to the consultant and now I'd like to hear from students and alumni. They are the ones that really know what it's like. Please help a concerned stressed parent make the right decision !

Anonymous:
Read you private messages.

Antigen:
I have a customer/friend who's little step-brother got sent to Hyde. Kid wasn't bad, really, just flunking out and agreed that maybe he needed a little more structure. He agreed to go to Hyde. It was the parents who sensed something not right. They went to the first required parent weekend and found it cultish and weird. The older step daughter (my customer) knew I was into researching these places and asked me about it. I told her Hyde was not among the worst, but it seems to be a cultish little program. No so bad as Elan. But not real wholesome, either.

They had already decided to pull him out at the end of the semester when he refused a weekend off campus because he thought he had been bad and needed to spend the entire weekend praying. They pulled him immediately. No regrets. They seem to be of the opinion that Hyde was brainwashing their kid. Turns out, the kid was just depressed, and thus quite succeptable to manipulation aimed at gaining better access to the family forture.

Watch yourself! Best bet! It's summer. Take a much needed vacation and go camping with your kid. What a concept, eh?

Freedom has a thousand charms to show, That slaves, howe'er contented, never know.
William Cowper, a British Christian poet & hymn writer (18th century)
--- End quote ---

Anonymous:
I'm a graduate of Hyde School in Bath.  I spent 5 years there in the late 70's.  Back then there were no Wilderness Schools, no diagnosed ADHD, etc...Hyde teaches you the basics to become a person of conscience and character.  It's no cult..that's BS...It's a place where the first steps are behavior modification..teaching a kid how to follow the rules and do the work...This is where everyone has the problem, this is where a hunk of Hyde Parents and students start talking about brain washing, because for the first time a lot of these kids aren't allowed to do what ever they want to. Trust me I spent a good hunk of my Freshman and Sophomore year on work crew...I spent a lot of time "thinking"..thinking why I didn't want to be there.  After a year and a half..I ran away and returned a week later ready to give it a real try.  That's when things started to happen.  I excelled in Lacrosse and performing arts and was given opportunities that I would have never gotten in public high school.  Hyde is in no way perfect...nothing is perfect and some people don't fit into the Hyde mold.  Plus when I went to Hyde it cost $3750.00 not the $35K is costs now.  So it's a lot easier to see your kid behaving better and saying that that $35K would be better spent on something other than boarding school.  Life is a game with rules...Hyde is the same way.  If you "Play the Game" it doesn't mean you're being dishonest...you're just doing your best to get the most out of the situation.  A lot of the stories you read in this forum are from people whose kids whined their way out Hyde.  They probably couldn't have cut it in any school.
The lessons I learned at Hyde have brought me closer to my family and given me a foundation to live my life to standards of excellence.

stepatwill:
Anonymous,

Thank you. I know nothing is perfect. I'm only looking for a balanced view of Hyde. It not easy finding students and alumn to contact which in my opinion are the only people who can give you a true picture of what it like.

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