From the head

We have learned that to reach the deepest part of students—those aspects of their inner selves that are the sources of intrinsic motivation, confidence, and self-acceptance—you need to influence the two most important forces in a child's life: the peer group and the parents.

Here at Hyde, we get up every day and work to empower students to create a healthy learning and living culture. But parent involvement is our secret weapon.

Parents are the primary teachers, and the home is the primary classroom. It is the big leagues. Even if we do not have children, we most likely have relationships with nieces, nephews, and neighbors who count on us to provide stable, guiding influences that will prepare them for a life of purpose and fulfillment.  Many times, we as parents feel beleaguered and alone as we navigate this job of parenting. Here are some common-sense fundamentals to guide us:

• Understand Your Job as Parents - The foundation of parenting is understanding our responsibilities. Many of the unproductive habits we can pick up stem from the roles we want to play in our child's life, rather than the roles we need to play. 
• Raise Children to Be Accountable to Life - For the most part, life will require our children to work hard, stick with things they don't always want to do, and develop the inner strength to connect their dreams to an action plan. If we do for them what they can do for themselves, we may take away opportunities for them to develop the traits they will need to realize the unique contribution they can make in life.
• Build Family Traditions - The big picture of raising children is painted by the family activities, routines, and practices that create lifetime memories, habits, and character. With our society’s addiction to screen time and technology, it is even more important to carve out time for creating family traditions as our children grow into being teenagers. 
• Have Faith in Your Child's Unique Potential and the Larger Forces in Life - Every child has a unique contribution to make in the world. We must believe in that potential even when we cannot understand it, and we must allow the larger forces outside the family (such as other people, outside events, and faith) to play their roles in our child's journey. We never know when an unexpected experience in the life of our child might unlock their potential.
• Your Example Will Be Your True Legacy to Your Child - We will be parents until we breathe our last breaths. Our children’s witness of our character growth will trump any successes and talents that we think will inspire them. As we tackle our own fears, find the courage to go after our visions, and model daily character, we will inspire our children. 

Parenting has been the greatest lesson in humility for me. It is when I have fallen short or had to allow others to help me that I have been able to make the most growth. I am now a parent with grown children who are also parents, and I continue to learn and allow them to help me go after my best. Many of the traditions and habits we still have as an extended family had their foundation in our days as a Hyde family.