General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: (Will Smith's son) Jaden Smith: 'School is the tool to brainwash the youth' [View all]davidpdx
(22,000 posts)Will Smith was raised in a Baptist household, and has stated that while he remains a Christian, he is "a student of all religions, and I respect all people and all paths."[37] Though he is not a Scientologist and has denied rumors claiming him as a member of the Church of Scientology, he has spoken favorably about it, saying "I just think a lot of the ideas in Scientology are brilliant and revolutionary and non-religious."[38][39][40]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Will_Smith#Religious_beliefs
They fund a private school that uses some Scientology methods of teaching, but not the belief itself:
The staff includes a number of Scientologists, including the Director of Learning, Director of Qualifications and Artistic Director,[5] as well as some of the school's teachers.[19] New Village Academy's Director of Learning, formerly the director of HELP in Boston, graduated from the Scientology Delphi School in Milton, Massachusetts.[5] The school's website lists "Study Technology", a form of education developed by Church of Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard,[20] as one of its methodologies.[5] The website utilizes Scientology terminology including "spiraling" and "gradient" in order to illustrate how students learn in the school's programs.[5]
The school's motto "Spiral Up" has been compared to Scientology's term "dwindling spiral", when "one commits overt acts unwittingly",[21] although "spiral curriculum" is also a term associated with Jerome Bruner.[22] When a student needs to be disciplined they are taken to the "ethics teacher".[11] Jada Pinkett Smith told ABC News, "Study Technology is a secular methodology intended to help students better understand what is being studied and apply it to real life. NVLA integrates this methodology as a tool in instructional design by providing teachers the framework to design lessons and curriculum."[23]
In response to reports of Scientology ties in 2008, Jacqueline Olivier who was administrator at the time, denied that the school had a religious affiliation, and told the Los Angeles Times: "People tend to think study technology is a subject, but it is really just the way the subject is taught. They then come to the conclusion that we are teaching Scientology when actually a methodology doesn't have anything to do with content."[7]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Village_Leadership_Academy#Scientology_ties