Many values are sadly missing from today's schools. Joe Gauld knew this too well as a teacher, coach and administrator. He saw a system preoccupied with students' ability and academic achievement, and blind to their character. Gauld decided to do something about it and he started his own school. Character First isn't a book filled with detached educational theory. Instead, the author's recollections and the personal accounts of students, parents, and teachers clearly show what creates the Hyde School difference. These stories tell of struggles with drugs and alcohol, cheating, and peer pressure—and the role the Hyde School and Gauld himself have played in helping young people deal with and overcome their problems.