Hyde

[Ursus]

What was a daily schedule like?

I'm probably not going to be able to answer this one with as many specifics as you would prefer.  It has been a long time ago for me.  Suffice it to say that one had essentially no free time.  I believe we had 2-3 Seminars a week (now known as Discovery Groups), but there were certainly weeks where there were fewer than the usual (e.g., the whole school had to participate in some other event), or times when there were more (e.g., there was a purge going on).  There were also School Meetings, which were once or twice a day.

Classes during the day, seminars and sports in the afternoon, performing arts activities during some evenings, study hall during other evenings, homework wherever you could fit it in.  In the wee hours before breakfast: sports or homework.  Weekends were a little looser, but you still had all this homework to make up, plus laundry, etc.

All usual activities would be more or less disrupted if there was a purge going on; the requisite extra Seminars and School meetings were usually carved out of class time.

The whole school would get more or less involved during Performing Arts events.  During my time there was "America's Spirit" which functioned more or less like a traveling road show during the Bicentennial years, with admissions material for Hyde on display at all of the performances.

After you completed the summer program, you only attended during the regular school year, unless you needed some "refreshing" in the wilderness category.

[nimdA]

Right moving along then..

Who staffed these trips, normal staff from Hyde or was their a special group of wilderness staff?

What were their qualifications?

[Ursus]

Who staffed these trips, normal staff from Hyde or was their a special group of wilderness staff?

What were their qualifications?

"Normal" staff.  How else could you be confronted appropriately as to your character shortcomings, which would become glaringly obvious when you were toiling through the woods with a pack that could be as much as 35% of your body weight?

Hey, I never said a word about that stuff.  Personally, I considered the situation far preferable to the bullshit... er, baloney... on campus.  But there were kids dropping like flies sometimes.  And God forbid you actually had a medical condition that you actually had to defend.  Yes, defend.  Because first you would be put through the wringer for trying to find excuses for slacking off, not challenging yourself enough, not reaching for your personal best.  And no matter how believable your circumstances, no matter how authentic the letter from your family physician was, no matter any of this, there would always be this stigma of trying to sleaze out of something that would hang over your head while at Hyde.

Qualifications?  Ha ha, there's a good one!  Remember:  "attitude is more important than aptitude," and Hyde faculty sure take that one to heart.  Seriously though, the lack of qualifications would freak me out if I were a parent of a Hyde student.  See aforementioned link about the kid who almost drowned on Malcolm Gauld and Paul Hurd's watch.  That situation was brought about by sheer arrogance and stupidity.

[silentlysinging]

Who staffed these trips, normal staff from Hyde or was their a special group of wilderness staff?

What were their qualifications?

"Normal" staff.  How else could you be confronted appropriately as to your character shortcomings, which would become glaringly obvious when you were toiling through the woods with a pack that could be as much as 35% of your body weight?

Hey, I never said a word about that stuff.  Personally, I considered the situation far preferable to the bullshit... er, baloney... on campus.  But there were kids dropping like flies sometimes.  And God forbid you actually had a medical condition that you actually had to defend.  Yes, defend.  Because first you would be put through the wringer for trying to find excuses for slacking off, not challenging yourself enough, not reaching for your personal best.  And no matter how believable your circumstances, no matter how authentic the letter from your family physician was, no matter any of this, there would always be this stigma of trying to sleaze out of something that would hang over your head while at Hyde.

Qualifications?  Ha ha, there's a good one!  Remember:  "attitude is more important than aptitude," and Hyde faculty sure take that one to heart.  Seriously though, the lack of qualifications would freak me out if I were a parent of a Hyde student.  See aforementioned link about the kid who almost drowned on Malcolm Gauld and Paul Hurd's watch.  That situation was brought about by sheer arrogance and stupidity.

Ah, yes. You've captured it so well. When I was there, there was one guy in particular- his name escapes me (stout, short guy, brown hair and slight facial hair, probably around 30something)- that went on all the wilderness trips, but he was just a part of the "normal" Hyde staff that took a liking to it, I'm pretty sure. And the second staff member could be anyone. When I was there, I had no idea of the staff members' actual "qualifications"; all I knew in my 14-15 year-old head was that they certainly didn't seem to know what the hell they were doing. At all. Now I know that's because they didn't... Hyde, apparently, doesn't give a shit about qualifications, and will hire you without a college degree/any sort of real experience in dealing with kids at all, nonetheless kids with serious issues. Some of them probably went to Hyde themselves; I just found out that a girl named Adele who used to be in my dorm, one or two years older/ahead of me, now works in Dean's Area. She has been since she graduated.

[nimdA]

During one of these discovery sessions if you weren't participating in the questioning of a peer what could potentially happen?

[silentlysinging]

During one of these discovery sessions if you weren't participating in the questioning of a peer what could potentially happen?

Well, it depends. Aside from the entire group emotionally attacking you... If it was a regular Disco Group happening on campus, then the result of having a "bad attitude" (just like the result of being "dirty") would be 2-4. I don't know if I've explained 2-4 yet: when you were on 2-4, you would not go to classes or Sports or any of the regularly scheduled Disco Groups or school meetings or any other activities. Days on 2-4 would start by being woken up early for an early-morning disciplinary workout (5:30). You were not allowed to speak on 2-4, except to answer a proctor or sometimes to have your own little 2-4 Disco Group. If you got caught talking or attempting communication, you got push-ups. The day would be spent silently doing activities like raking leaves or digging giant holes. A lot of the time, when you were done raking, the proctors would come mess up the piles of leaves so you had to do it all over again, or have you fill up the holes so you could re-dig them. Fun stuff like that. The whole time, of course, in silence. When you weren't doing stuff like that, you were sitting, spaced out, on the bleachers in silence; sometimes, depending on who was proctoring, you could get away with journaling during this time, but that was it. and, of course, a proctor could ask to read your journal at any time. The bleachers faced a fairly big sign with words like Integrity and Humility, and the Ethics (brother's keeper, no drugs, no alcohol, no cigarettes/tobacco, no sex, no lying, no stealing, no gambling; I'm probably forgetting some, but that's all I can recall at the moment). You weren't allowed to eat meals with the rest of the school on 2-4, either. Instead, PB+J sandwhiches and stuff like that would be brought to you to eat on the bleachers, or you would have to go get it, and bring it back to the bleachers.

If it was during an outpost, then the whole group would probably get a workout.

[nimdA]

Define workout with appropriate examples, also attempt to explain the logic behind such an excercise as reported by staff.

[Ursus]

During one of these discovery sessions if you weren't participating in the questioning of a peer what could potentially happen?

You could be confronted about your "bad attitude."  Sometimes the focus of the Seminar/Discovery Group could switch! ...onto YOU!  The trick was to find some middle ground, where you participated at least as much as the least participating person, but less than the real gungho brown-nosers were.

There could also be a problem if you participated too much, although that was rare.  There could be such a circumstance where someone tried to buy into the Program with all their heart and participation, but someone on the Staff did not like them, and would confront them about their phoniness.  And then kids who had been previously eviscerated by said sycophant would jump into the confronting fest with great gusto.

[Ursus]

Define workout with appropriate examples, also attempt to explain the logic behind such an excercise as reported by staff.

L O G I C ?  Oh my...

I think having to do pushups or other calisthenics (e.g., jumping jacks or situps, but pushups were usually the choice du jour) as punishment for attitude issues has its origins in the military, but I could be wrong.  Often this was an immediate remedy for a relatively minor transgression.  There is currently a clip on YouTube shot by a former Hyde student detailing a few minutes in Algebra class where the instructor is inexplicably absent, and in which a student suddenly drops to the floor and starts doing pushups.  This is, undoubtedly, such a situation.  Said student probably used foul language or insulted someone inappropriately, and another student called them on it and hence the first student had to do pushups.

5:30 workouts and 2/4 (known as workcrew in during my time) are different.

Algebra II  
You need to turn the volume way up for the body of this piece (opening and closing credits excepted).

[nimdA]

I'm going to be mostly gone for the next day or so. However, during my absence I'd like you both to consider doing the following:

Describing the residential setting of Hyde in great detail.

Describing the policy and proceedure in regards to the following:
Dining arrangements
Showering
Laundry
Medical Aid
Student Jobs

If any or all of these items can be affected by staff or fellow students please explain how and cite a personal example.

peace out yo.. be back later.

[Ursus]

5:30 workouts and 2/4 (known as workcrew in during my time) are different.

To continue:

5:30 workouts:  punitive sports-oriented workout at 5:30 AM.  Overseen by staff or more senior and "on-track" student.  Rationale:  your slacker attitude, or your bad attitude in any respect.  A lot of leeway for interpretation here.

workcrew aka 2-4:  punitive round-the-clock condition that could last a few days to a few weeks, depending on your case.  It could also last quite a bit longer, although Hyde would not put it quite that way, I'm sure!  Personally, when a kid on workcrew has a meeting with staff to determine where he's at, and he gets put back out on workcrew, I don't consider that a new situation, I consider that a continuation of the previous.

Workcrew could consist of digging 6' x 6' x 6' pits, and having to fill them back up again.  You could be moving a woodpile from one place to another.  I saw a girl have to create a walkway on campus one year.  She was on her hands and knees, digging in the soil with some appallingly small utensil, covered with dirt and grime, all her hair chopped off (to help her re-examine her self-image)... The other students walked back and forth over her handiwork en route to their classes, literally looking down at her...  She was not allowed to speak with us.  I think her crime was trying to run away, but I honestly don't recall that particular detail.  Yes, the school got quite a bit of landscaping done this way.

[nimdA]

Workcrew could consist of digging 6' x 6' x 6' pits, and having to fill them back up again. You could be moving a woodpile from one place to another. I saw a girl have to create a walkway on campus one year. She was on her hands and knees, digging in the soil with some appallingly small utensil, covered with dirt and grime, all her hair chopped off (to help her re-examine her self-image)... The other students walked back and forth over her handiwork en route to their classes, literally looking down at her... She was not allowed to speak with us. I think her crime was trying to run away, but I honestly don't recall that particular detail. Yes, the school got quite a bit of landscaping done this way.

Was this the result of an actual psychiatric intervention?

[Ursus]

Workcrew could consist of digging 6' x 6' x 6' pits, and having to fill them back up again. You could be moving a woodpile from one place to another. I saw a girl have to create a walkway on campus one year. She was on her hands and knees, digging in the soil with some appallingly small utensil, covered with dirt and grime, all her hair chopped off (to help her re-examine her self-image)... The other students walked back and forth over her handiwork en route to their classes, literally looking down at her... She was not allowed to speak with us. I think her crime was trying to run away, but I honestly don't recall that particular detail. Yes, the school got quite a bit of landscaping done this way.

Was this the result of an actual psychiatric intervention?

What do you mean by "psychiatric intervention?"  In this girl's case, she was just considered a rebellious screw-up.  Needed to be squashed and taught a lesson or two.  She spoke out in protest of something or other, did not cooperate, said "Fuck this!" and ran away.  But she got caught, and brought back.  Nowadays, I hear that they don't try to stop them, but they instruct the parents to not allow them back home.  SilentlySinging might be better able to elaborate on current protocol.

Hyde prides itself on not using professionals in the therapeutic milieu; they feel that anyone can do this stuff... A relatively fresh Hyde graduate recently posted in the Hyde forum: "I learned a lot mainly from the other students there. You don't need a Psychology or Psychiatry degree to help someone, all that matters is that you care and are speaking from experience."  That pretty much sums up the mindset there, although I would add that there is a great deal of downright disdain for therapeutic professionals that may or may not be actually voiced, depending on the audience.

Personally, I would say it all depends on the kind of "help" you're giving. Are you talking about friend-to-friend? Or are you talking about an institution that takes a kid who, to cite one example, has been diagnosed with Major Depression, and who then tells this kid that their lack of self-esteem and seeming inability to make "progress" has nothing with said diagnosis, and yet everything to do with the fact that they are a loser, and that if they were honest with themselves they would have to admit that calling it "depression" is a cop-out?

[nimdA]

Interesting... right anyway back to the previous questions.

[Ursus]

Describing the residential setting of Hyde in great detail.

Describing the policy and proceedure in regards to the following:
Dining arrangements
Showering
Laundry
Medical Aid
Student Jobs

If any or all of these items can be affected by staff or fellow students please explain how and cite a personal example.

In my time, and I suspect that it is little or no different now, there were a small collection of dorms, housing approximately 20-40 students each.  There were also a number of dorm rooms on the upper floors of the Mansion (original main building), perhaps 1.5 floor's worth of them.  Each dorm room housed 2-3 students, depending on the size, and at what point in the school year (Hyde was always more densely populated at the beginning of the school year than at the end); usually each room had 3 students.

Each dorm, or dorm section/floor was under the jurisdiction of a faculty couple who also lived there, that is, in a separate apartment that was also attached to the dorm via a door that only they had access to.  Within the dorm, there were a few senior or on-track students who were more or less in charge of the dorm/dorm section.  Some dorms were quite small, e.g., the Carriage House.

Dorms were segregated as to sex.  Each dorm had a communal bathroom/shower area.  Some dorms had a congregating area, some did not.  I don't remember any such area in the Carriage House, but the two "New" (at the time) Dorms did each have such a spot, as did the OutHouse (albeit internal, and hence not accessible to the opposite sex).  Not that it mattered.  You did not have time for such activity anyway.  Any "congregating" that you did was in the pursuit of some other school-defined activity, and was elsewhere on Campus.

Meals were eaten in the Kitchen/Dining Area.  It was a semi-regular Cafeteria style place, except that meals were eaten Family style around large round tables seating about 6 or 8.  A faculty member would also be seated at each table.  There were a few tables where there were no faculty seated, and it was considered highly suspect if you sat at one of those tables too many times in a row.  When not used during mealtimes, the space was used for school meetings and Performing Arts activities.  Breakfast was less formal:  you got your tray and went through a line getting what you wanted.

To be continued...