Smith and his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, have founded the New Village Academy, scheduled to open in September.
The school will use instructional methods developed by Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard called study technology. And a few teachers belong to the church.
But the couple says they are not Scientologists, and the academy's director insists the facility has no religious affiliation.
"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," New Village Academy director Jacqueline Olivier told the Los Angeles Times.
Oliver said some of the school's staffers are Scientologists, Muslim, Christian or Jewish. In addition to reading and math, the school offers classes on yoga, robotics and etiquette.
But some distressing news is starting to surface around Hollywood about Smith and his association with Tom Cruise and the Church of Scientology.
Last year it was reported that Cruise had been tasked with getting Smith and his wife into the religion. Now there are reports that claim Will was talking up the unorthodox religion to anyone who would listen on the set of his new movie, Hancock, opening July 4th. (See Review And Trailer)
"He gave out Scientology pamphlets at the end of the shoot," says biographer Andrew Morton, who published an unauthorized biography on Scientology's number one man Tom Cruise last year.
"It's also been said that he and Jada are home schooling their children in Scientology methods," Morton insists.
In a new interview with USA Today, Will Smith defended his pal Tom Cruise. Smith mentioned that all the criticism Tom received because of his Scientology faith was:
"Painful for me to see. I've met very few people committed to goodness the way Tom is. We disagree on a lot of things. But even with different faiths and different beliefs, at the end of the day, goodness is goodness."
Source: By Starlink Celebrity Blog http://starlinkcelebblog.blogspot.com/
Posted June 30th, 2008 by admin_huliq
So, what is this "study technology"
The latest hype around Will Smith circulates around the question if he is a Scientologist because he is sponsoring a school using "study technology", created by Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard.
So, the next question should be: What is this "study technology"? Funny enough, it isn't, which might be a sign that the whole hype is just a PR spin to use Smith to attack Scientology, or vice versa.
Nevertheless, what is this study technology all about? Secret initiations in smoke-filled chambers (Harry Potter comes to mind)? Teachers speaking in tongues to vibrate knowledge into the brains of their pupils?
Well, no. Study Technology of the brand "L. Ron Hubbard" is simple, easy to find on the internet and easy to do. It says: "Study Technology is not speed reading or memory tricks. These have not been proven to raise one’s ability to comprehend what was studied or to raise literacy. Study Technology shows how one studies in order to comprehend a subject so one can apply it."
Per a site on Study Technology the system consists of overcoming several barriers to study and the text explains how.
First, it says, you have to determine for what purpose you study. "Until you clarify that, you cannot make an intelligent activity of it." And so on. Study Technology includes how to detect and overcome barriers like "words not fully understood", "lacking concepts" and other down-to-earth things which anyone can try at home and see for him/herself if there is something "religious" or mysterious about it.