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Study Technology (also "Study Tech")


Scientology's Study Technology - Essay
The Californian controversy centered around the key issues of what Study Technology is and what it does. It is based on the teachings of the late L. Ron Hubbard, sometime science fiction writer and founder of the Church of Scientology, a reincarnation/psychotherapy group that many see as a cult. Its curious name reflects one of Hubbard's most frequent quirks or marketing gimmicks: he would customarily label his religious doctrines as "technologies". Study Technology, often abbreviated as "Study Tech", forms part of a much larger body of Scientology scripture that members simply call "the tech".

Where Does Study Tech Come From?

The contents of the Study Tech books are taken directly from Scientology scriptures published over a period of about twenty years between approximately 1960 and 1980. Not all of the material is reproduced in exactly the same form in the Scientology and Applied Scholastics versions. A number of significant changes have been made. Hubbard's rambling lectures have virtually been rewritten, although their underlying message remains the same.

LA Times: Scientology and the Schools

District officials killed the program, believing that Applied Scholastics was seeking to expand too quickly. Officials were also displeased that the group, without district approval, was using its involvement with Centennial to market the program elsewhere, according to Acting Supt. Elisa Sanchez.
 
 In promotional literature, Applied Scholastics made claims of remarkable success at Centennial High. While some parents said the program helped their children, Sanchez said the claims made by Applied Scholastics were unsubstantiated.

Inside the Church of Scientology: Milton School Shades Ties to Scientology

Critics of Scientology say the real motive of Delphi is to increase church membership, and make money by selling high-priced Scientology courses to parents, according to Priscilla Coates, an anti-cult activist in Los Angeles.

One parent, Harvard Dental School instructor Dr. E. Leo Whitworth, had just such an experience with Delphi Academy.

Whitworth said his son, L.V., was taught basic Church of Scientology methods like Study Technology during the four years he was enrolled at Delphi Academy.

The dentist said he did not learn that Delphi was linked to Scientology until after his son was enrolled, and then they recruited him for a variety of programs at the Church of Scientology on Beacon Street in Boston.

Opinions on Scientology Study Technology
My experience with the 'study tech' was that, when reading something Hubbard wrote, absolutely no explanation of the text was allowed. Hubbard -- in spite of the much vaunted 'communications tech' -- was NOT the easiest person to understand. I can recall asking for a restatement of some- thing I was studying, only to be told -- rather firmly -- that my 'not getting it' was (obviously) caused by my going past a misunderstood word; that this was MY fault in not immediately comprehending the <cough> genius, of Hubbard and not due to the ..ah, opacity, of what he wrote.

This whole m/u word thing, like so much of $cn, has a smidgen of truth to it, but has been intentionally blown WAY out of proportion, to the point that a student who is questioning something (because that is what a student DOES) is told that any concept he fails to grasp is HIS fault and not that of the manner in which the concept is presented.

General Report on Scientology — Declaration of Jonathan Caven-Atack (9 April 1995)

62. Should a Scientology student question any of the tenets of Scientology, he is required to look up definitions of words in the text: "The student says he does not understand something. The Supervisor has him look earlier in the text for a misunderstood word." [JCA-132]; "Whenever a person has a confused idea of something or believes there is some conflict of ideas IT IS ALWAYS TRUE THAT A MISUNDERSTOOD WORD EXISTS AT THE BOTTOM OF THAT CONFUSION." (Emphasis in original, [JCA-133]). No-one who disagrees with Hubbard can continue in Scientology. All practices have to be adhered to absolutely. To do otherwise is regarded as a violation of "standard technology". In this way, even factual errors in Hubbard's work remain unchanged. For example, the phrase "The 14th century psychiatrist" used in the "Policy Letter" "Sanity" [JCA-134]. A "course supervisor" at the Birmingham Scientology organization spent almost 30 minutes trying to persuade me that this was not a typographical error for "19th".

The Rick A. Ross Institute: Study tech

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