If This is 'Scientology,' Then Let's Import It To America's Failing Public Schools!
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If This is 'Scientology,' Then Let's Import It To America's Failing Public Schools!
By Crabby Golightly
STRAIGHT UP, I'M GONNA SAY THAT I DO NOT, WOULD NOT, EVER, ADVOCATE PRACTICING ONE SO-CALLED RELIGION OVER ANOTHER. Catholicism, Buddhism, Mormonism, Oprahism -- you name it, religion is a personal matter that fills the void in many lives. And I for one would never say that one was better than the next.
Hailing from the City of Brotherly Love, Crabby takes America's freedom of religion very seriously. If you want to pray to ancient aliens, practice nihilism, worship TV hosts, send money to healers -- Crabby's got your back.
All of which brings us to Will and Jada Pinkett Smith's new private school in La La Land, the New Village Academy, which critics are fingering as a Scientology front.
The Los Angeles Times quotes the school's administrator as saying, yes, some Scientologists do work at the school, but so do Catholics, Muslims and Jews. "We are a secular school and just like all nonreligious independent schools, faculty and staff do not promote their own religions at school or pass on the beliefs of their particular faith to children," administrator Jacqueline Olivier said.
But here's where Crabby gets riled. Apparently the school is using Scientology lingo called "study technology,'' which apparently strikes terror in the hearts and minds of U.S. educators. Which seems sad to Crabby because, as reported in the Times' and Wikipedia, "study technology" sounds like a fantastic and logical approach to learning.
Essentially "study technology" focuses on righting three wrongs that deleteriously impact learning: Ignoring misunderstood words, depriving hands-on experience, and advancing to higher concepts before simpler fundamentals are mastered. To which Crabby says, duh. And if it's true as the LA Times' reports, that "there is no reputable educator anywhere who endorses [study technology]," at least according to David S. Touretzky, a professor of computer science at Carnegie Mellon University, then can I proffer a thought?
I'm all for debunking myths, lies, and cults, but when someone, anyone, advises that students ought to know the words they read, learn by doing, and master one level of a subject before advancing to the next, I'd hail them as an educational genius. And if there is "no reputable educator" who endorses such approach, then does that not explain America's epidemic of failing public schools?Will Smith, actor, rapper, A-lister, suspected closet Scientologist, good luck with your school. But here's one small tip: find someone with the educational gravitas to persuade the public that your school's methods make sense. And too bad that only privileged kids who attend expensive private schools are held to such high standards.
