In February’s final yr, Samoa’s Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele became photographed along with Warren Meyer, the “humanitarian ambassador” for a set referred to as Applied Scholastics.
Key factors:
- An investigation discovered that Scientology fabric is being taught in six Samoan schools.
- Experts warn Scientology is covertly pushing its ideology in colleges internationally.
- It uses associate groups like Applied Scholastics and ABLE to difficult to understand its involvement.
- There are two schools here in Australia that use the works of Applied Scholastics.
- They have been preserving a textbook titled Learning How To Learn — one in every of 10,000 copies proficient to the small Pacific island state.
But the friendly picture belies a greater bizarre and complicated fact.
- The plenty-wished academic sources for the kids of Samoa have been, in fact, books containing the lessons of L Ron Hubbard, the founder of the controversial Church of Scientology.
- Thanks to research using the Samoa Observer posted earlier this week, and it has now been discovered that there are at least six faculties in Samoa using those coaching methods.
- Applied Scholastics have additionally told the ABC that more than a dozen Samoan educators have traveled to the organization’s headquarters in Missouri for education.
- The deeply Christian island state of Samoa may additionally appear an unlikely vacation spot for Scientology to sell its teachings. Still, it’s simply one among many long way-off corners of the globe Applied Scholastics is searching to make bigger too.
It claims to be already running in 70 international locations — such as colleges and centers in Australia. - But according to critics, Applied Scholastics is really of a Trojan horse for spiritual indoctrination and is being covertly rolled out throughout the globe.
- David Touretzky is an academic and researcher at Carnegie Mellon University who has spent years uncovering and criticizing the workings of the Church of Scientology and its partner companies.
- “One of the motives it’s objectionable is that it is covert spiritual coaching, it’s coaching human beings Scientology,” he instructed the ABC.
dStudy Tech, a form of ‘covert nonsecular preparation Applied Scholastics, turned into installed in 1972 with the aid of Church of Scientology contributors and is certainly one of many umbrella businesses that obscure or outright deny their hyperlinks to the Church of Scientology. The employer claims to be a non-aligned and secular institution “dedicated to the huge implementation of studying tools researched and evolved via American author and educator L Ron Hubbard.” But the company is likewise believed to be exaggerating its attain and the fulfillment of its operations. An advertising and marketing ploy experts say is aimed toward shoring up donations back inside the United States.
“What they do not say is that [Hubbard] become a sociopath and a cult leader,” Dr. Touretzky said.
Applied Scholastics make use of a coaching technique known as Study Tech — a concept fashioned by using Hubbard — which he defined as “[Scientology’s] primary bridge to society. On its websites, Applied Scholastics afford several “research reports” published via the enterprise itself even as highlighting several nameless testimonials. “Study Tech is not a gimmicky ‘brief-look at technique’ but an actual technology that all of us can use to study a topic or to acquire a new skill,” reads a proof on Scientology’s internet site.
“Your capability to learn depends on a willingness to analyze. The biggest unmarried block to gaining knowledge of is your selection that you already realize all approximately it,” a sample of Study Tech’s work reads. But it would not provide a lot greater than perfunctory detail on how its strategies work or any solid evidence to their efficacy, and the material’s contents refer heavily to studying assignments and generalized or simplistic physical activities to beautify getting to know together with looking up the definitions of phrases that readers do not recognize.
According to Dr. Touretzky, Study Tech isn’t supported using any valid scientists or educators.
“You cannot locate any faculty of training or psychology department inside the global that helps those thoughts — the only region wherein these standards are taught are inside the religious scripture of the Church of Scientology,” he said. “It’s dangerous, it is a horrific academic idea, and it’s covert nonsecular coaching.” ‘Not a part of the Church of Scientology’: Applied Scholastics
