Jada Pinkett Smith defends using Scientology to homeschool her children
Topics: News, Celebrity, Jada Pinkett Smith
Charisa Bossinakis
Featured Image Credit: Steve Granitz/FilmMagic. Kevin Winter/Getty Images
Topics: News, Celebrity, Jada Pinkett Smith
Jada Pinkett Smith has defended using Scientology to homeschool her children.
The actor has been making a lot of headlines while on the promotional tour of her upcoming memoir Worthy.
The latest bombshell concerns her children's education and their connection to Scientology.
The 52-year-old said that while she’s never been a ‘fan of organized religion’, she didn’t feel that way about Scientology.
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“I was very clear when I stepped into the Church of Scientology that becoming a member would not be possible, nor was it my goal,” she writes.
However, the star went on to ‘embrace’ the Basic Study Manual while homeschooling Jaden and Willow Smith, claiming it was better than traditional learning.
In 2008, she and Will launched the New Village Leadership Academy, the church’s ‘legally secular’ curriculum, which still employs Scientology teaching methods.
Despite the church’s criticism, Jada says she didn’t hold the same ‘stigma’.
“Some of the controversy about my approach to education probably had to do with the use of the Study Technology learning method I'd discovered when I was introduced to Scientology,” she says.
"Study Tech, although it came from Scientology, is legally defined as secular. Because of my experiences on Sundays at the Ethical Society and my Christian, Islamic, Judaic, Buddhist and Sufi studies throughout my adult life, I didn't hold the same stigma around the Church of Scientology as most do.”
She adds the goals of Study Tech is to 'help a student achieve 100 per cent proficiency with a subject, as opposed to memorizing and regurgitating but not gaining command over said knowledge or skills.'
She says it can help a child 'gain a sense of self determinism with respect to whatever is being taught.'
The mother of two maintains it enables children to engage in education to become lifelong learners.
She writes that Jaden loved its teachings; however, Willow asked to attend regular school around middle school age.
Of course, Jaden thrived. Have you seen some of his tweets?
Jada and Will have previously denied being followers of the controversial new-age religion.
During a 2018 episode of Red Table Talk, Will addressed if he was a Scientologist, saying: “We’ve never been Scientologists, we’ve never been swingers.”