Will Smith and Jada Pinkett deny school’s Scientology link
Posted on August 10th, 2009 by Austin
Tom Cruise is the media’s favorite pinata on the Scientology craze, but Will Smith and his wife, Jada Pinkett, seem to have plans to take over that role: The high-profile pair, who deny they are fans of the distrusted cult, have just placed a Scientology graduate in charge of their school.
Will, 40, and Jada, 38, opened the private school, ‘The New Village Leadership Academy,’ in Calabasas, California last September. They told reporters at the time that their dream was to create ‘a strong learning experience’ for their own children – Jaden, 9, and 7-year old Willlow. They then ordered that all lessons must follow the “Study Technology” system – invented by Scientology’s founder – L. Ron Hubbard.
For a couple who deny any link to the cult, this is a curious choice; “Children are indoctrinated with Scientology jargon and led to regard Hubbard as an authority figure,“ says Dr. David S. Touretsky of Carnegie Mellon University, one of the technique’s harshest critics. “They [the Smiths] are laying the groundwork for bringing new people into Scientology.”
The school’s Principal, Jacqueline Olivier, became so repulsed by Study Tech’s brainwashing ways, she refused to allow it, and that started some rows, “Her position was becoming untenable as she did not agree with Study Tech.’” says one insider. So Jacquie has just been dismissed. In her place, Will and Jada have installed a woman blessed with a rather curious name – Piano Foster, who is described by those close to the Smiths as, “far more in-line with their thinking.”
The new Principal – who completed a Scientology course in 2005 – is described by Will’s spokesman as, “a Catholic, not a Scientologist.” The helpful assistant also told scribes that Study Tech rules were merely, “the school’s secular and open-minded teaching method.” But Dr. Touretsky is less than convinced, “Study Tech is no more a secular teaching method than wine and communion wafers are a Sunday morning snack.” he told the New York Post.
So the rules were invented by Scientology’s founder, and it’s now governed by a Scientology graduate…But it’s not a Scientology school. By now, Will Smith’s nose must be at least ten-feet long.
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