Scientology's Study Technology The Hidden Message in L. Ron Hubbard's "Study Tech" Dr. David S. Touretzky Center for the Neural Basis of Cognition Carnegie Mellon University Pittsburgh, PA 15213 USA Chris Owen, MBE Rotherhithe London United Kingdom Last Update - September 13, 2003 WHAT IS STUDY TECHNOLOGY? In July 1997, the Los Angeles Unified School District considered an application by public school teacher Linda Smith to establish a new charter school. When questioned, Smith admitted that she and her two partners were Scientologists, and that the plans for their school included some unusual educational materials called "Study Technology." This attracted the attention of the press and the story was broken by Duke Helfand of the Los Angeles Times in an article on July 27, 1997. Also that month, the California state Department of Education gave preliminary approval for five volumes in the Study Technology series to be used as supplemental textbooks, meaning they could be purchased with taxpayer funds and used by schools throughout the state. (See second Helfand article, LA Times , July 29, 1997.) The | |
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