On 2005-11-06 12:27:00, Anonymous wrote:
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On 2005-11-06 11:15:00, Lars wrote:
"To the former parent who thinks a wimp's been writing this stuff:
Maybe your kid discovered himself there, but for others like myself, the true discovery and growth occured after we escaped from their repressive one size fits all program.
I became more outgoing and personable AFTER I left.
I discovered I was a top student AFTER I left.
I became happy and confident AFTER I left.
And by the way, I was a lot tougher, both physically and mentally, than most of the true believers there. Believe it. :wink: "
See that's the thing about Hyde. It doesn't always "work" right in the moment. All change takes time. If this is all true about you, I would argue that maybe Hyde DID work for you and you just don't realize it. Or moreso, you don't realize where your life would have gone without that foundation. I know you will dispute this, but your experience is similar to mine. I was distraught at HYde, but deep down inside I knew they were giving me something that no one else ever had, and slowly later in life as I pulled things together, it was the Hyde teachings that I relied upon to guide me."
I'm glad to know that Hyde worked for you. I don't question your sincerity. But, are you willing to accept the fact that for many other students and parents, Hyde was a destructive, harmful environment that has left serious emotional scars? This and other websites include testimonial after testimonial from thoughtful people who can identify some very specfic Hyde features that were very damaging (emotionally abusive staff, FLCs that were led by people who were not at all equipped to deal with the intense emotional drama, poor teaching, public shaming, etc., etc.). This may not have been your experience, but, obviously, this was the experience for many others.
There are lots of other boarding schools that serve struggling teens. Interestingly, I've never heard these sorts of chronic complaints about most of these other schools, and I've looked (I'm not including the handful of schools that have been featured in the news because of their apparently abusive practices.) There is something about Hyde that is very unique: It has managed to elicit some of the most vociferous, angry, vitriolic criticism you'll find anywhere concerning a school. This should tell you something about the way many people experience Hyde.
I know what some Hyde fans and the Gaulds are likely to say: These critics are people who simply didn't commit themselves to the Hyde process, have attitude problems, etc. The truth, however, is that many of these folks are thoughtful, principled people who understand Hyde and say it like it is. That's a truth that Hyde fans simply have difficulty hearing. Fortunately, many others ARE willing to hear that message.