Scientology is a maze of shells and false fronts and corporations owning corporations and only their own lawyers know all the details and they ain’t talking. If it has got Hubbard’s name on it (and it always does) it is Scientology.
Does this thing even have an ISBN number? Is it this? It seems to be the only text at applied scholastics that resembles what you are talking about.
From their (obviously) own blurb:
So it is the same old story. Elron made amazing breakthroughs that no one else has ever though of! And why not, since he is the reincarnation of the Bhudda! That is, when he is not traveling back in time, or through outer space! What a busy busy man! And to think he had time to write books on grammar and business management and art, and marital relations and raising children and in his spare time he discovered the true origin of the universe, the cause and cure of all human emotional and physical suffering as well as curing all diseases including cancer, which, in case you haven’t heard, is caused by NOT SMOKING ENOUGH.
Once again you are preaching to the converted; however, I have to point out that I do need those good bits of information in the other thread. (IOW please do notice that I’m not shooting you down, only that we need to focus with the quality and rotten content of the material at hand in this thread, deserved pot shots to Scientology go in the GD thread)
On preview:
And Happy Wanderer gets a cigar ( ) for the good cite! Still disappointed though for the *Learning how to Learn * evidence of worthlessness found so far.
How about this as an alternate strategy? You find some work that has oodles of weighty academic praise and you point out that it’s got tons of that, and ol’ Elron’s work’s got nuttin’.
(Come to think of it, I might just be able to put you in touch with someone who could really help. One of my brothers taught at an exclusive DC private school [Dan Quayle’s kids went there] and he had to deal with the same kind of crap [bad budgets] that you’re dealing with. He might be able to give you a few pointers.)
Imagine a scene in the near future. One of the students from your district is a little confused about life and in a vulnerable emotional position. Maybe he has some mental problems that could be resolved if he sought the proper help. Instead, someone at a card table with a sign that says “free stress test” approaches him. She is cute and sympathetic. Pretty soon they are trying out the e-meter and chatting.
“You’ve heard of L. Ron Hubbard, right?”
“Yeah, we used some of his books in school!”
“Mr. Hubbard is one of the greatest teachers in history and lot of the best schools use his teaching methods, but he did a lot more for the world, let me tell you about it…”
Notice how prominently his name is plastered on all the materials? Just getting his NAME in a legitimate forum is a win for the cult. It legitimizes him.
So, I hope you can convince these guys, for the sake of your own good rest. The bottom line is, why buy the book? You are:
Supporting an evil cult that ruins people’s lives.
Legitimizing the name of L. Ron Hubbard in the minds of your students.
Opening the tent to the camel’s nose, and they will never leave you in peace.
Did they even send you a sample copy? I have flipped through some of his “educational” material and it is mighty thin gruel. Lots of pictures and “duh hey” content. Hubbard had a way of making the most obvious thing in the world sound like a profound and unique observation. It’s only when you stop and think about what the long winded lunatic is saying that you realize how perfectly banal it is.
I am curious enough now that I will spring for a copy if I can find a used one. Since this seems to be the way they are worming into the schools, it is worth having so I can rebut it with authority. How long before you need to make a decision?
Tuckerfan: Why yes, I would appreciate if you can get me in contact with him, my e-mail is in the profile.
Happy Wanderer: I see one can summarize your post with point number 2, and I have to say it is a very good one. Now the challenge: is there a place I can find a cite with that point?
Pointing to this thread is not good enough, I need other sources to make the case. Of course, I will summarize your point and use it if no other source can be found.
A lot of his pedagogic advice boils down to “Never go past a word you don’t understand, if you ever come across a word you don’t understand, look it up in the dictionary before going on.”
This is:
A: Bad advice. Yah, Ron, I’m gonna be carrying that dictionary on the bus. :rolleyes:
B: pretty much all he’s got
GIGObuster, I PM’d it to you, and now that I think about it, my brother’s wife works for the University of Maryland (I think that’s it), so she’s got some educational background as well. I just emailed my brother to let him know to expect a message from you. I assume that your school’s a non-profit? You might be able to squeeze some cash out of local businesses (since they’d get a tax write off) for donations towards buying textbooks if you pointed out that them “godless Scientologists were trying to get their clutches on the kids.” (You know, first they go for the private schools, then they go for the public schools.)
Elron’s not a total hack. Battlefield Earth is an enjoying romp, but I’ve read part of Dianetics and, yeah, he’ll spend like six pages describing something and then when he’s done you realize that he’s talking about a tree. Naturally, your first thought is, “Why the fuck didn’t he just say it was a tree?” Mission Earth, however, is total dreck, and isn’t even suitable to wipe your ass with.
Why do you need a citation? By adopting his textbook, you are legitimizing him in the eyes of your students. His grinning mug is in the book. His name is on the cover. QED.
So in addition to 1-4 I will add another:
Crappy pedagogy. See post 29.
Off to order some crappy pedagogy. I will be back with a “book report” in a few days.
Um, have you ever read any good SF? I feel sorry for the cult’s victims, but I felt especially sorry for those staffing the “Hubbard” table at Worldcon. Very forlorn sight.
Sez you.
He wrote all the back of the mag “filler” stories nobody bothered to read, usually under a pseudonym. That is his literary legacy.
If true, that should be the absolute end of the discussion about using the text in public schools. Private schools can do what they want as long as they aren’t funded with government scholarships or grants, and the rest must answer in a direct way to their clients.
I will have more to say about the content of the book when it arrives.
And further reading of that site reveals that the book contains lots of words that Hubbard made up, and aren’t in any dictionary that is not published by the church. That ONE EASILY DEMONSTRABLE FACT ought to be enough to reject the text. Or do you want the kids going around spouting hubbardspeak? :rolleyes:
I mean, what is next. I can see the school spelling bee:
“The word is Enturbulate”
“Can you use it in a sentence?”
“The fact that this shit is being taught in school enturbulates the SP’s, but it makes raw meat from the wog world more likely to become preclears and start moving up the bridge so they can help clear the planet!”
And if I had conjugated the verb properly it would have been a legitimate spelling bee example sentence. :smack: I meant to say “will enturbulate”. Honest.
If it has got Hubbard’s name on it (and it always does) it is Scientology.
Since this seems to be the way they are worming into the schools, it is worth having so I can rebut it with authority. How long before you need to make a decision?