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Will Smith And Jada Pinkett Smith Fire The Head of Their Kids' School
Filed under: Celeb Parents, In The News, Religion & Spirituality, Education: Big Kids, Education: Tweens
Will Smith tells teacher she's history. Credit: Getty Images
Wouldn't it be great if you could just walk into your child's school and pink-slip the teachers you don't like?
That's exactly what Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith have done. The Hollywood powerhouses have fired Jacqueline Olivier, the head of The New Village Leadership Academy, a California school that the megawatt married couple founded two years ago, according to RadarOnline.
New Village opened in 2008 and has been the subject of some controversy due to an alleged Scientology-based curriculum. For example, some feel that the schools' motto, "Spiral Up!", is derived from Scientology teachings. Oliver and the Smiths, "were said to have clashed about the school's mysterious Study Tech curriculum which was devised by Scientologist founder Ron L. Hubbard," according to RadarOnline.
The couple has denied that New Village is associated with any religion. In June 2008, Jacqueline Oliver told the Los Angeles Times, "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." There is no mention of Hubbard or Scientology on the curriculum section of the New Village website.
Other celebrities have put their educational money where their mouth is. Tiger Woods started the Tiger Woods Learning Center in California in 2006. Tennis star Andre Agassi opened the Andre Agassi College Preparatory Academy in 2001. And then there is the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy School for Girls, which has had some very real scandals in recent years.
Will and Jada had been homeschooling their children before deciding that they wanted to "revolutionize the public school system," according to published reports. It's unclear how starting a private school will achieve that goal. Then again, firing public-school administrators can be very difficult, no matter how famous you are.
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ReaderComments (Page 1 of 1)
8-07-2009 @ 1:27PM
cleopatra said...I believe that they have a right to say how they want their children to be educated. We want what is best for our children, and education is one of them. As a parent you become aware of what is best for your child or children, and if you are litterly fliping the bill providing for that education, the parents point of views and interest is what matters. Turn the point of view to a comsumer matter the customer want what they are paying for if your not pleased, you take it back or you will not buy that product again. Publicly, or privately parents, and gaurdians want the best for their children, if you see were their needs aren't being met we strive to improve and I commend them for that. Koodoos they get pointsfor being aware parents.
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8-07-2009 @ 9:08PM
Ron Glazer said...I agree with your point, however the school DOES teach the teachings of Scientology...against the wishes of the parents of the students. Ms. Oliver was fired for protesting and defending the children's parents wishes as well as her own educational beliefs, which do not include Scientology teachings or theory.
It is my opinion the school will fail within 1 - 2 years.
8-10-2009 @ 4:55PM
Heidi said...Well, since it's a private school that they started, I guess they have the authority to hire and fire. That's not about their celebrity status. However, just the mention of L Ron Hubbard makes me twitch. If his "teachings" are in ANY POSSIBLE WAY connected to the curriculum then it is a Scientology school. I've now lost any respect I had for Will & Jada. They want to "revolutionize the public schools" according to the article. Please don't...keep your Scientology to yourselves and your own personal school.
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8-11-2009 @ 5:54PM
Zinzah said...THANK-YOU!!!
8-12-2009 @ 11:59PM
Amorito43 said...It's their school. They could teach whatever they want, and I'm sure that they have to tell potential student's parents what is in their curriculum. If you don't want your kid learning that stuff, then pull them out and put them someplace else, and even better yet, do your full research before you even enroll them.
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9-17-2009 @ 1:00AM
Mest said...Will and Jada Smith just axed Jacqueline Olivier from her $200,000 a year position because she was not on board with STUDY TECH, the nutty, Scientology education technique which brainwashes cult members and now Calabasas kids.
“Study Tech” is the basis of all Scientology schools and is used to manage cult members. There are three concepts which make up Study Tech:
1. “Mass” (pictures, diagrams or objects to illustrate concepts)
2. “Gradients” (breaking concepts into simple steps)
3. “Misunderstoods” (linking all confusion to unfamiliar words).
These techniques are characteristic of Scientology’s indoctrination process. Study Tech follows the same template that the cult lays out for prospective members and introduces Scientology belief systems into young minds in the guise of secular education.
Study Tech’s “three principles” not only appear at Scientology schools, they also appear in various Scientology handbooks and “courses” such as “The Student Hat,” sold as entry-level "religious services" for a fee to new members of the cult. " The Student Hat course is compulsory for all Scientologists, so children being indoctrinated in these Scientology learning techniques are taking the same first steps as newly minted cult members.
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