“I was the kind of parent who was a negotiator; when rules were broken, I would give them an out.”  David Yale – Hyde Alumni Parent David’s wife died when his daughter was eleven years old. Their parenting style together had been to negotiate with their kids. “We wanted them to be happy,” he says. With his wife’s untimely death, David had to parent not only through his own grief, but that of his kids. It was inevitable that their happiness was important to him and he says he knows he overcompensated for their loss. “Ultimately,” he shares, “you have to get to a place as a parent where you ..read more

“The more vulnerability that I share with my children, the closer we become.”  Luc Levensohn, Hyde Alumni Parent Luc’s daughter was dealing with anxiety in high school, mostly caused by self-applied pressure to achieve in a school culture very focused on achievement. When Luc and his family found Hyde, he learned a lot about the need for a different kind of communication with his daughter – one based on unconditional love but that still included boundaries and accountability. In this brief, candid interview with a former Hyde dad, we learn a lot about the specialness of father/daughter re ..read more

Focus on yourself. Pieter Wolters and Ank Stuyfzand are proud of their son’s character and growth; they are also proud of their own growth as parents. In our series of interviews with Hyde Alumni Parents, I usually ask the question “What was working in your parenting before you got to Hyde?” Ank Stuyfzand and Pieter Wolters had several answers: Ank:    We always had high standards for our son and for ourselves. Pieter: We kept to the same guidelines in a situation. Ank: We kept an open communication with each other. Despite what sounds like a solid foundation in their parenting, th ..read more

What’s Your Parenting Style? Hyde Alumni Parent, Kate Carey, says hers was “Why am I the only one who sees clearly?  I’m a victim and I’ve got some resentment.” She describes her husband’s style as “sometimes pampering, sometimes fury.” Both are very descriptive! Whatever your parenting style, you’ll enjoy this brief but sincere conversation with Kate, who realized in their first experience – the interview – that Hyde was the place for her son. She learned that letting go meant allowing her son to make mistakes and learn from them; appreciating that he could teach his parents some things ..read more

Podcast 103: Jeff and Melissa Burroughs: Their daughter brought them back to Hyde… “I didn’t really want my daughter to go away to school…” Jeff Burroughs, former assistant Head of Hyde School, and Hyde Alumni Parent. As former teachers and administrators at The Hyde School, both Jeff and Melissa Burroughs knew well what the program was like for students and parents. Yet when they found themselves in The Biggest Job Family program with a daughter at the school, their learning about themselves as parents was deeper than even they expected. “In certain ways,” said Melissa, “my kids felt the nee ..read more

  “Tell My Story.” - Ryan Reid Jason (Jay) Reid is doing just that; telling his son, Ryan’s story. Ryan took his life when he was 14, leaving two Post-It Notes: one was the passcode to his computer; the second said “Tell My Story.” In this podcast we hear from a very brave father who misses his son, wishes he’d been more vulnerable, wishes he’d listened differently.  “We need to change the conversation around mental health,” says Jay; “families need to be talking about mental health and asking the right questions.” Jay has founded an organization called ChooseLife (www.chooselife.or ..read more

Who would want to do that – crash their career? But it’s the subtitle of the book, Ditch the Gatekeepers and Be Your Own Credential, that brings sense to the title; and it’s a new book written by Isaac Morehouse, a man who likes to call himself radically practical. Isaac has some pretty radical views on education, careers, and freedom; he believes that if college is a four-year social experience, it seems really overpriced. And “if it’s to prepare you for a successful career, it’s the most absurd format imaginable.” His company, PRAXIS, is a yearlong startup apprenticeship program that helps ..read more

  “Kids can’t identify with our achievements.”  Joe Gauld, Founder, Hyde School It’s our 100th podcast!  And our very special guest is Joe Gauld, founder of The Hyde School in Bath, ME. I asked Joe to be the guest on our 100th show because it all started with him. He founded Hyde School to prepare kids for life; after five years, he realized that unless he also reached their parents, he wasn’t helping kids in the best way possible, because the home is the primary classroom and parents are the primary teachers. The parent program at Hyde is called The Biggest Job Family Program ..read more

  “Nothing is for sure when it comes to our kids; we do the best we know with what we have at the time.”  -  Dan Scott Dan Scott is the author of Caught In Between: Engage Your Preteens Before They Check Out; he is also a pastor and writer for Orange Books and speaks to teens and parents about child and adolescent development.   He has written several devotionals for kids and believes that faith is as important on Wednesday as it is on the day they are in church or synagogue. He also believes in our familiar phrase: “Parents are the primary teachers and the home is th ..read more

“It’s About Effort, Not IQ” – Title of Chapter 10: The Sport of School, by Christian Buck There are so many great quotes and teachings in The Sport of School: How to Help Student-Athletes Improve their Grades for High School, College, and Beyond!  that it was hard to choose the one that would catch your eye and make you want to listen to this podcast.  Here are a few more: “Is our goal to prepare our students for the next four years or the next 40?” “While I am a big proponent of goals, I am a greater proponent of a clear vision.” “True change on the part of your student involves c ..read more