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Hyde School (Bath)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Hyde School is a character education high school in Bath, Maine.
Hyde was founded in 1966 by math teacher Joseph Gauld. Mr Gauld was interested in providing education based on character development rather than academic achievement. Since its inception Hyde School has had the reputation of being a "turn around" school. The organization, based in Maine, also includes national parenting workshops and wilderness experiences. Outdoor activities are incorporated into the educational scheme and a Outward Bound like experience is provided to many if not all students. That is a place where well to do families can send their children who are having difficulty in other educational environments. Some of these children have behavioral abnormalities, others are underperformers. In addition many students are there because their parents believe in the educational theory of character before performance. Thus there is a mix of the more traditional prep school crowd and nontraditional "turnaround" children. Because of this mix many who start there do not finish and it is not uncommon for only 6 or 10 from an original freshman class of 50 remain at the school for the entire 4 years.
Although Hyde is typically categorized as a college preparatory schoolthe school administrators regard their primary purpose as preparation for life. Hyde helps students learn, embrace, and adopt a character compass that will guide them for the rest of their lives.
Emphasis is placed on performing arts and sports. Participation in athletics is mandatory and sports are often assigned to students in order to balance the schools teams and provide for as strong a school showing as possible in as many sports as possible. Performing arts is also mandatory. Singing, acting and dancing are seen as critical steps in the development of all students. These students often perform in shows designed to attract other potential families to the school. Academics are provided but not emphasized and those who are talented at school work are enlisted to teach those who are less able. There are the typical high school classes and academics and most if not nearly all who complete school there gain access to colleges and universities.
Group counseling sessions are mandated several times per week and run by non-accredited counselors. Students are encouraged to council each other both inside and outside of these sessions when they consider another student's actions or thoughts to be in discordant with the schools philosophy. These sessions focus on the individual students and their current issues and problems faced at the school. Students are encouraged to share intimate secrets, insecurities, doubts and regrets about them selves and their families. These amateur psychology sessions are extended to parents. The parents are incorporated into local groups based on region where they too are exposed to the school doctrine and counseling methods. The purpose of these sessions is to indoctrinate all involved into a sequestered and intimate social structure. This limits behavioral problems and helps the school with the behavioral reform aspect of it's mission. In addition it helps the school close the loop on the behavioral problems many of their students have by addressing the problems, fears, shortcomings and insecurities of the parents. In juxtaposition to the parents involvement in their own counseling, they are encouraged avoid over involvement with their children while at the school. When children are having difficulty at the school parents are instructed to stay detached from the student and to focus on their own physiological issues, while allowing the schools programs and counseling methods gently bring the child into the philosophical and cultural fold of the enclosed society of the school.
Students are encouraged and regimented to recognize and address the faults of their peers and to communicate these perceived character flaws to them in a terse manner in the "brothers keeper" line justification. "I am saying this because I care about you" is the rationale for what could be perceived as demeaning verbal encounters by outsiders. These encounters are believed to play an integral role in the improved character growth and development for all involved as espoused by the school leadership.
Truth is emphasized over harmony and students are rewarded for turning in their peers for transgressions against the Hyde School code of ethics. Students who have difficulty with following the rules of the school are put on work duty where they perform maintenance jobs and lawn care for the school during the wee hours of the morning. The idea behind the work crews is to "earn" acceptance by the group, and work back into the good graces of the school.
In recent years, Hyde has received national recognition. In 1993, Joseph Gauld’s experiences were published in his book Character First: The Hyde School Difference. Television shows, such as ABC’s 20/20, CBS’s 60 Minutes, and NBC’s The Today Show have aired full segments on Hyde, and the Hyde character concept has been featured in publications such as Education Week, Insight, The New York Times, USA Today, The Boston Globe, and The Wall Street Journal.
The Hyde of today continues to uphold its Five Words as the core values on its boarding campuses in Maine and in Woodstock, CT, as well as in its public school initiatives in New Haven, CT; Washington, DC; and the Bronx, NY. These schools are presently run by the extended Gauld family and all Joesph Gauld’s primary children and several in-laws hold the key leadership positions with in the school consortium.
