Malcolm’s Blog
Choosing the Right School – Q #2
Q #2: How would you rate both the energy and accessibility of the teachers? Student/teacher ratios aren’t all that meaningful if the faculty are phantom 8-to-3ers who are not all that approachable. As impressive as a fancy Ivy League educational pedigree may be, it really doesn’t tell all that much. No factor is more important than [...]
Read More »Choosing the Right School – Q #1
I was recently approached by a reporter writing an article intended to serve as a resource for parents considering the option of private school for their children. After spouting off a Top-10 list of questions parents might ask, I figured I was done with it. (Note: I tried to steer clear of conventional standards like [...]
Read More »May 15, 1985
I had some sense that things would be different this time. But given the false promises/starts I’d made before, I just kept it to myself. Don’t know what made me pick up my Boston office phone late that morning and dial the number. I’ve had 28 years to make sense of it. I don’t know. [...]
Read More »Hot Seat Catapult
Sometimes I take for granted just how amazing everyday life at Hyde can be. ‘Tis the season of senior evaluations, and Hyde faculty and seniors are meeting regularly to discuss where the soon-to-be graduates currently stand relative to our unique character standards for a Hyde diploma. During these meetings, there exists the need for the [...]
Read More »Stardust & Grandparents Day
Author Alex Hailey (1921-92) once said, “Nobody can do for children what grandparents do. Grandparents sort of sprinkle stardust over the lives of children.” I witnessed some of that stardust last Friday in Bath on Grandparents Day. On face value, it would seem pretty simple: Grandparents come for a campus tour, see classes, meet with [...]
Read More »Hyde’s BHAG in 3 Sentences
Hyde goes laconic… A few of us were sitting around talking about the merits of a current Internet marketing program that challenges participants to summarize their Big Idea in 3 sentences — essentially a minimalist spin on the BHAG (“Big Hairy Audacious Goal”) idea posed by Jim Collins and Jerry Porras in their landmark 1994 [...]
Read More »“Keee-id…” – Rock Greetings & Salutations
If you teach or coach, you spend a lot of time counseling, advising, and just plain talking with kids. More than a few times, while searching for wisdom on-the-fly, I’ve found myself spouting off rock lyrics. I can’t help it. They just come to me. Some mystify the kids. Some are offered for my own [...]
Read More »Christian Ejiga ’13 signs w/U. Maine!
There was a lot of excitement on the Hyde-Woodstock campus earlier this week when senior Christian Ejiga ’13 (Lagos, Nigeria) signed a letter of intent to accept the offer of a full basketball scholarship from The University of Maine @ Orono. I’m so happy for Christian given how hard he has worked in the classroom [...]
Read More »In Defense of Food
Just before I left for Spain, a friend gave me a copy of Michael Pollan’s book In Defense of Food – An Eater’s Manifesto. I wasn’t sure what to make of the title (let alone the sub-title!) but figured I’d give it a look during that first part of the plane flight (to Spain) when [...]
Read More »Temple Grandin
For any parent of a child with autism, the name “Temple Grandin” conjures up images of, well, a sort of Holy Grail of what’s possible. Her inspirational journey through her own autism to a professorship of animal science at Colorado State University, her widely lauded inventions resulting in major breakthroughs in the field of livestock [...]
Read More »Randy Newman, Hall of Famer
So, let’s say I’m stuck living in a totalitarian state where my music-listening is limited to a single musician of my choice. My selection: Randy Newman. If I ever needed a break from his incisive lyrical social commentary, I would simply listen to his unparalleled movie scores: e.g., Ragtime, Awakenings, or The Natural. If I [...]
Read More »Sketches of Spain
What a birthday present! My wife gave me a week with my daughter Scout who is studying in Madrid this semester. Having just returned, here’s my Top-10 List – no particular order – of my favorite memories: 1) Retiro Park – I ran this 4+- mile loop every day. The entire park is beautifully manicured [...]
Read More »Only @ Hyde: “Evals”
Right about now, the seniors at many schools are chilling out. They’ve heard from their colleges and now it’s time to set their cruise controls and… wake me up in time for graduation! Not only would that not be the case at Hyde, our seniors are gearing up rather than settling down. The gear-up is [...]
Read More »Hyde: 10 Lessons Learned
I recently engaged in an extensive strategic planning process with a team of Hyde faculty, staff, and boad members. We looked at product, price, competition, marketing, family education, and on and on. One of my assignments was to explore our 45+ year history with an eye toward trying to identify the major lessons we’ve learned [...]
Read More »Hyde & Fit #4
Continuing in the same vein, Don MacMillan looks at how therapeutic schools, traditional schools, and Hyde view discipline and support as well as how they respond to student’s violation of rules. Discipline & Support Therapeutic Boarding School- the assumption is that students will struggle academically, personally, & socially. Staff (therapeutic and residential) are specifically available [...]
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