Scientology taught at public funded charter school

[yurbud]

Teachers at public funded charter schools have to use scientology teaching methods and watch videos praising L Ron Hubbard.

My guess is that the politicians granting the charters do not give a rat's ass about what these guys teach as long as their donation checks clear.

We have to figure out how to make this corrupt education reform radioactive so that in spite of the personal financial temptations for politicians, they will know their career is over if they push this agenda.

At the encouragement of the superintendent Robert Duffy, many of the kids at the six schools, which serve 1,000 students, are taught using Applied Scholastics, a teaching method researched and developed by Scientology founder, L. Ron Hubbard.

***

Katie Donahoe, a teacher who used to work at Robert L. Duffy High School in Phoenix, spoke to NPR about her training in Applied Scholastics at the organization's headquarters. She said:

"They didn't start off talking about instruction. They started off talking about L. Ron Hubbard," says Donohoe, who was there at the urging of her new superintendent. Later that fall she would start teaching English at Robert L. Duffy High School in Phoenix. But first, she was asked to get familiar with Hubbard's methods.

"The next stop was to watch a video talking about how great Applied Scholastics was," Donahoe says. Among those in the video were Isaac Hayes, Tom Cruise and John Travolta.

http://www.takepart.com/article/2013/03/27/scientology-schools-sneaking-into-classrooms

[longship]

1. But the students don't learn about Xenu until graduation.

Which is called "Clear" at this school.

I wonder how they handle Scientology super powers. As discussed on episode 43 of Skeptics Guide to the Universe.
Here: http://www.theskepticsguide.org/archive/podcastinfo.aspx?mid=1&pid=43
In what grade are those taught?

I have thousands of questions about this.

[idwiyo]

2. K&R and I thought it couldn't get any more ludicrous than is already was...

[BlueStreak]

3. This is excellent. We need to get other publicly funded schools to teach

witchcraft and sorcery, the science behind Sasquatch and UFOs, and channeling the beyond. I'd like to see a publicly funded school have required courses that involve seances and Ouija boards. And another school that teaches that modern medicine is bad, and that anything which cannot be healed through prayer isn't worth healing. And certainly a Zen school, and maybe a hippie plantation school. That is the way to stop this Christian nonsense. There won't be a publicly outcry against Christians taking our money to teach children the the earth is 6000 years old and evolution never happened. But there could be an outcry against these other similar forms of insanity. And it will be very difficult to stop a school that worships Apollo, Poseidon, and Zeus and still funnel public money to promote Christianity.

Surely there must be some Islamic Madrases that can apply for these public funds -- hopefully some that teach the glory of Sharia law.

[mike_c]

4. let's get christians out of education before we worry about AS....

Applied Scholastics is NOT scientology, despite it's being conceived by Hubbard and refined or promoted by scientologists. AS is content free--it's pedagogy, not dogma. It does not include anything like the weight of doctrine laid on schools by christian educators at religiously affiliated schools or church education programs.

Sheesh. I worry a whole lot more about catholic, protestant, morman schools and etc than I do about AS, which is non doctrinal and is really only an instructional method, not a delusion about invisible people and made-up history.

[yurbud]

5. scientology has a well-earned bad reputation as an abusive cult/scam

[mike_c]

6. and christianity doesn't?

Seriously-- AS is NOT scientology. School districts that use it do not evangelize scientology. It's a pedagogical method, mostly adapted from self-study approaches. If scientology courses lectured instead of using the AS self study approach, would you want to ban lecturing from schools? Getting upset about AS is just about that misdirected. AS does not teach scientology.

On the other hand, christian and church affiliated schools DO teach christianity. They often have obligatory religion and bible studies classes for promoting myths and made up shit as truth. They discourage critical thinking and inquiry. They spread superstition and promote embedding it into cultural consciousness.

I'm not defending scientology, because AS is NOT scientology. It's a study method. I think it has some merit, although I think it emphasizes self study to the detriment of active group pedegogies a bit more than I think is best practice. I don't have anything good to say about scientology, although in fairness, I don't know much more about it than that it has done far less harm to humanity than christianity has done. That doesn't make scientology good-- it makes christianity something that's even worse in schools.

[yurbud]

7. You're digging a hole for yourself. Scientology has made up beliefs too and it more systematically

abuses people than any church I ever attended (and I don't believe in any of that stuff any more).

You can go to most churches for quite a while without being hit up for money, and even then, you don't have to give to continue to participate.

You know that is not the case with scientology.

Likewise, most churches don't hound those who decide it's not their cup of tea anymore.

You know that is not the case with scientology.

I'm sure David Koresh or Jim Jones could come up with a non-religious pedagogy too, but it would be fruit of a poison tree, and prime kids and teachers to think positively about an organization that is very dangerous to its members.

I would prefer not to have any religions designing public school curriculum, but allowing scientology to do so shows a reckless disregard for students, teachers, and taxpayers.

[mike_c]

8. nonetheless, the fact remains that AS is NOT scientology....

I don't understand why you can't seem to comprehend that. It's a (primarily) self study method. If you've been involved with scientology then you probably remember reading/study rooms where there was an emphasis on modularizing study materials and looking up misunderstood words. That is the heart of AS. It's got nothing to do with scientology other than being the method of study favored by L. R. Hubbard. Scientologists are rather dogmatic about it in their reading rooms, but using the technique in schools certainly does not promote scientology. It promotes learning. Whether it's the best practice is subject to question, but that's got nothing to do with scientology either.

Fruit of a poison tree? Come on. That's just throwing out the baby along with the bathwater. Why would you think that school administrators seeking more effective pedagogies show "a reckless disregard for students, teachers, and taxpayers?"