Hyde & Fit: Hyde vs. Traditional & Therapeutic Schools

The Hyde Mansion

– Charles Reade

Hyde’s Founding Principle The original Hyde School was founded in 1966 in Bath, Maine, by math teacher Joseph Gauld.

In the early 1960s, one of his brightest students, who had little curiosity and relied primarily on his innate abilities, received the highest grade in the class.

Another student, the classic “plugger,” who struggled with the course material but who embodied curiosity and had a strong work ethic, received a low grade in the class.

Distraught that neither student was served by the traditional grading system, Gauld had what he calls a “crisis of conscience” and became dedicated to providing education that included character development alongside academic achievement.

He then founded Hyde School, which operated under a different set of priorities. The school placed a higher value on effort over achievement.

To help students develop their character, it began with a focus on Five Words: Courage, Integrity, Leadership, Curiosity, and Concern, and the cardinal principle that every individual has a unique potential that defines a destiny.

50 years later, Joseph Gauld was recognized by Character.org with the prestigious Sanford N. McDonnell Award for Lifetime Achievement in Character Education.

For more information, contact: Hyde School 616 High Street Bath, Maine 04530 (207) 443-7101 comevisit@hyde.edu www.hyde.edu

H Y D E VS . TR A D ITI O N A L & TH E R A PE U TI C SC H OO L S

Sow an action, reap a habit.

Sow a habit, reap a character.

Sow a character, reap a destiny.

Is Hyde School right for my family?

Many families exploring the option of sending their child to Hyde often wonder, “What kind of kids go to Hyde? How do I know if Hyde is right for my family?”

Hyde School offers a distinctive type of education, focused on character and family. The following pages describe the unique features of Hyde and answer questions that can help determine if Hyde is the right school for your student.

WE TEACH

CHARACTER

Deciding if Hyde is the right fit

1

Frustration with your teenager

2

Motivation to live lives committed to high principles

3

Child has capacity for greatness

We have observed that most families coming to Hyde have experienced frustration with their teenager and, perhaps, even desperation regarding their parenting. We have also observed that not all families fitting this description are the right match for the school.

Your family is motivated to live lives committed to high principles and deep purpose. This motivation has often been tested and perhaps tempered by prior unsuccessful attempts to apply conventional methods and programs in hopes of countering the feelings noted in #1. As the teenager veers ever further away from coveted family principles, there is a sense that it’s time for something new and unique.

You believe that your son or daughter has a capacity for a level of personal best that is neither expected, nor respected, in his or her current school environment.

Q A

Q: How does Hyde differ from a traditional preparatory school?

A: Traditional prep schools place their primary emphasis on a rigorous college-preparatory program and assume that the overall experience will result in character development.

Hyde places its primary emphasis on a rigorous program of character development and assumes that the overall experience will result in positive college placement.

4

Student is bright and resilient

5

Commitment to the Family Program

6

Who you are matters more than what you can do

Your student is intellectually capable and, perhaps, despite recent evidence to the contrary, possesses a capacity to face new challenges with resiliency. While some students might currently be off-track, they typically have some history of being on-track, and the more recent the better. Kids with no familiarity with being ontrack and/or performing well are historically ill-suited to Hyde.

While most Hyde parents arrive with the primary motivation to help their teenager, they are also willing to make a commitment to participate fully in a program of personal and family growth.

The more committed they are to their own personal growth, the better. Conversely, parents seeking to simply “drop their child off” at prep school would do well to look elsewhere.

Hyde believes that “who you are” matters more than “what you can do.” Consequently, Hyde is for families who share this belief.

Q A

Q. How does Hyde differ from a therapeutic school?

A: Therapeutic schools seek to remedy a particular unresolved matter, typically a psychological or cognitive diagnosis, believing that once the problem is remedied, the individual will then be prepared to resume life in the mainstream.

Hyde seeks to build upon a student’s strengths with the belief that a holistic way of life can help students manage or resolve life’s current and future problems as a residual benefit of pursuing a new path.

Comparison: Stress & “Structure” Traditional

Therapeutic

“Turn the volume up”

“Turn the volume down” Here, stress might actually These schools attempt to be increased as a function decrease stress through of higher expectations for therapeutic interventions academic performance (individual, group and/ and/or social pressure. or milieu therapy) and a Structure is provided structured environment. by an active schedule, Structure means students with the assumption are supervised by adults that students will be continually; multiple responsible for following staff (educational, the schedule. Students residential, dedicated are not supervised night shift, therapeutic) continually by adults. are employed to provide One staff group (teaching this supervision. The faculty) is employed to staff typically includes provide supervision. The a high percentage of faculty typically has a trained counselors and/or liberal arts orientation. therapists.

“A past chair of Hyde’s governing board once said, “The world would be a better place if everyone spent some time at Hyde School.” This, he said, is why he chose to give his time to ensuring its future. I agree, and it is why I sent my daughters to Hyde and why nearly all of Hyde’s senior administrators send their teenaged children to our schools. I suspect that this would not be true of the therapeutic schools.”

- Malcolm Gauld Executive Chairman Hyde School

Hyde “Tune in to a different station” At Hyde, stress might actually be increased as a function of the multifaceted emphasis on academics, self-reflection, leadership, family growth, etc. Structure is provided by an active schedule, with the assumption that students will be responsible for following the schedule.

One residential staff group (teaching faculty) is employed to provide supervision. Like the traditional schools, the faculty has a liberal arts orientation.

INTEGRITY

Comparison: Discipline & Support Traditional

Therapeutic

Hyde

The assumption is that

The assumption is that

The assumption is that

students are primarily

students will struggle

students are

self-disciplined.

academically,

responsible for

Support is available for

personally, & socially.

their decisions, and

academic, social, and

Staff (therapeutic and

that some of those

personal struggles if

residential) are designated

decisions will reveal a

requested by the student

to support and guide

lack of discipline. Hyde

or family. Teaching faculty

during these times.

is prepared to address the

provide much of this

Students require this

undisciplined decisions

support as part of their

support and guidance from in a variety of ways and

teaching responsibilities.

external sources in order

for a longer period of

There might also be a

to succeed. Students who

time than traditional

learning/tutoring center

violate the rules are in

boarding schools. Similar

or a school counselor.

need of more support,

to traditional boarding

Students who violate rules guidance, or structure.

schools, the assumption

are seen as capable of

is that students who

modifying their behavior

violate rules are seen as

in response to appropriate

capable of modifying their

consequences and

behavior in response to

improving upon their

appropriate consequences.

self-discipline.

Support is available for academic, social and personal struggles, provided primarily by the teaching faculty.

CONCERN

Where Hyde Fits

So, Is Hyde Right For You? Traditional Schools

Self-Discipline

Therapeutic Schools

H

Hyde is more like a traditional school with the exception that students who do not selfregulate are held accountable rather than expelled. While some students might need time to develop this skill, the responsibility for this skill development is primarily with the student.

Responsibility

H

Hyde is more like a traditional school, although with the understanding that some students will need time to develop responsible habits. The student is primarily responsible for developing these habits.

H

Reflectiveness

Hyde is more like a therapeutic school. Reflection, self-awareness and personal growth through examination of relationships is an integral part of the school environment.

Co-curricular Activities

H

Hyde is more like traditional schools in its offerings. The primary difference is that these activities are mandatory for all students rather than extracurricular. Also, the student is evaluated on his/her striving for personal excellence.

Academic Proficiency

Hyde is more like a traditional school. There is a wide range of academic abilities at Hyde, and students who have recently gotten off track might be appropriate students for this school, although students with severe learning disabilities are likely not appropriate.

H

Hyde is unlike either traditional schools or therapeutic schools. The parent commitment is to his or her own growth first, with the understanding that there will be an indirect benefit to the student.

Personal Vision/Leadership

Hyde Schools Statement of Purpose Written by the Hyde community in 1988

Each of us is gifted with a unique

are the Five Words and the Five

potential that defines a destiny.

Principles.

A commitment to character development enables us to

We value these words and aspire to

achieve personal excellence and

reflect these principles in our individual

find fulfillment in life. To paraphrase

and collective endeavors. Our respect

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., we strive

in this community and that which we

for a school where the members of our

accord our peers is a direct reflection

community will be judged not by their

of these efforts.

inherent talents or innate abilities but

H

Commitment to Family Growth

In the end, there is no secret. There is a Hyde community of students, faculty, parents, and others who strive to live up to Hyde’s Statement of Purpose. Hyde is for people who want to take a shot at living up to this statement.

How about you?

H

Hyde is unlike either traditional schools or therapeutic schools in terms of helping students realize personal vision and leadership. All students have the chance to experience and develop genuine leadership, since opportunities are interwoven into every aspect of life at Hyde.

by the content of their character.

Our primary goal is the personal growth of Hyde’s students, but our experience has taught us that all constituents—students, teachers, and parents—must strive for personal growth in order for Hyde’s teenagers to achieve it. As we narrow the gap between what we want to foster and how we foster it, we continue to

LEADERSHIP

believe that our successes are due more to an adherence to a belief system rather than a set curriculum.

The cornerstones of that belief system

CURIOSITY