(Will Smith's son) Jaden Smith: 'School is the tool to brainwash the youth'

[alp227]

Jaden Smith bashed America’s education system on the social media site Twitter yesterday.

The 15-year-old son of Will Smith and Jada Pinkett published a series of tweets sending anti-school remarks, calling it a “tool to brainwash the youth.”

“Education is rebellion,” he tweeted to his 4.5 million followers.

The Karate Kid star went on to say, “If Everybody In The World Dropped Out Of School We Would Have A Much More Intelligent Society.”

full: http://thegrio.com/2013/09/17/jaden-smith-school-is-the-tool-to-brainwash-the-youth/

(Jaden starred in the 2010 remake of "The Karate Kid".)

As a Lucky Sperm Club kid who doesn't have the same formal education as a lot of his fans (due to his career as an actor and rapper), and heck as a teenager in general, Jaden is speaking from an idealist, unrealistic, inside-the-bubble perspective. However, in this age a lot of young people actually relate to what he's saying.

[Skittles]

1. says the extreme nepotism example

[NYC_SKP]

3. He's not entirely wrong, Skittles.

While I love what I see happening in most K-2 classrooms, as kids get older school seems to increasingly be about conformity.

Schools too often beat the creativity and joy out of them.

No, I think there's a lot of truth in what he's say, though I can't say that he's saying it with much of a foundation of experience in schools.

[Skittles]

4. here he explains himself

The teen actor explained his approach to life this summer on “Good Morning America,” saying, “I really try to do me and really what I want to do and please myself instead of trying to please other people.”

[Nanjing to Seoul]

23. Spoken like a true nihilist.

[liberal_at_heart]

2. They relate because much of what he says is true. The purpose of education is no longer to

produce intelligent, critically thinking, productive, world citizens. The purpose of education now is to create robots who will do what they are told and not buck the system. Jaden is a smart kid.

[fujiyama]

5. Meh. He's also been raised in a scientology household

He's no better off than if he were raised by crazy RW evangelicals not teaching evolution and focusing only on the Bible as being literal truth.

While I agree that schools really aren't aiming to produce intelligent citizens capable of critical thinking, it's easy for him to spout off this nonsense, considering he has the luxury of having everything handed to him on a silver spoon.

[liberal_at_heart]

7. just because he's a rich scientology kid doesn't mean he is automatically wrong.

Believe me I know. I went to my kid's curriculum night this week. The major theme of the night was passing state tests and staying on track for graduation. Robot training. That is what our education system has become.

[Skittles]

10. would you have advised your son dropping out of school

or should we concentrate on FIXING what ails the education system?

[Fumesucker]

16. I'd be happy if we could stop the precipitous slide of the education system

Even though I agree with the statement in the OP to a bigger extent than I'm at all comfortable with, I was taught some real nonsense in school that has taken me a very long time to unlearn.

[socialist_n_TN]

67. You won't "fix" the education system......

when there's profit involved in it NOT being fixed. These standardized tests and everything else that goes along with school "reforms" are all about painting a picture of failure, so it can be privatized for profit.

[delrem]

13. Problem is the rich scientology kid doesn't have a clue about why that might be.

His prescription: drop out of school.

His prescription has no connection to any possible solution to the problem.
Conclusion: throw his script away.

[Skittles]

8. he is a nitwit

raised in a bubble and thinks he knows it all

[GalaxyHunter]

30. That is your opinion, not necessarily the truth.

I see how you can get confused.

[dionysus]

73. "His parents are bisexual closet case"

do tell?

[Skittles]

68. no, he is a nitwit

[MADem]

126. I also think that "opinion" is the truth; I'm not confused either--and welcome to DU..... nt

[GalaxyHunter]

137. That is your opinion and you are entitled to it.

Thank you!

[MADem]

144. Enjoy your time here.... nt

[GalaxyHunter]

147. haha!

I see what you did there!

[vankuria]

43. Yea sure, drop out of school

who needs an education, after all doesn't everyone get the opportunity to be in movies and have parents with million dollar paychecks! Hard to take seriously a kid born into wealth with an abundance of opportunity at his finger tips, and all because he was lucky enough to be born to popular actors with enough influence to get their kid into movies.

Even in a flawed educational system, for most kids their best opportunity for success is to stay in school and do well.

[davidpdx]

22. Actually whatever you might think of him the Scientology part is false....

Will Smith was raised in a Baptist household, and has stated that while he remains a Christian, he is "a student of all religions, and I respect all people and all paths."[37] Though he is not a Scientologist and has denied rumors claiming him as a member of the Church of Scientology, he has spoken favorably about it, saying "I just think a lot of the ideas in Scientology are brilliant and revolutionary and non-religious."[38][39][40]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Will_Smith#Religious_beliefs

They fund a private school that uses some Scientology methods of teaching, but not the belief itself:


The staff includes a number of Scientologists, including the Director of Learning, Director of Qualifications and Artistic Director,[5] as well as some of the school's teachers.[19] New Village Academy's Director of Learning, formerly the director of HELP in Boston, graduated from the Scientology Delphi School in Milton, Massachusetts.[5] The school's website lists "Study Technology", a form of education developed by Church of Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard,[20] as one of its methodologies.[5] The website utilizes Scientology terminology including "spiraling" and "gradient" in order to illustrate how students learn in the school's programs.[5]
The school's motto "Spiral Up" has been compared to Scientology's term "dwindling spiral", when "one commits overt acts unwittingly",[21] although "spiral curriculum" is also a term associated with Jerome Bruner.[22] When a student needs to be disciplined they are taken to the "ethics teacher".[11] Jada Pinkett Smith told ABC News, "Study Technology is a secular methodology intended to help students better understand what is being studied and apply it to real life. NVLA integrates this methodology as a tool in instructional design by providing teachers the framework to design lessons and curriculum."[23]

In response to reports of Scientology ties in 2008, Jacqueline Olivier who was administrator at the time, denied that the school had a religious affiliation, and told the Los Angeles Times: "People tend to think study technology is a subject, but it is really just the way the subject is taught. They then come to the conclusion that we are teaching Scientology when actually a methodology doesn't have anything to do with content."[7]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Village_Leadership_Academy#Scientology_ties

[GalaxyHunter]

31. Thank you for the correction.

[enlightenment]

56. If it walks like a duck

and quacks like a duck, it's a duck.

http://newsone.com/2648933/new-village-leadership-academy-scientology/

[davidpdx]

69. Still the accusation which you are imply is true is false

They backed the school because it offered an alternative way of learning. The school didn't work out and closed. It was funded with private money by the Smith's who believed they were helping children. They also donated money to other churches including a mosque. Does that mean they are Muslim as well?

[enlightenment]

79. If you say so.

I could give a rat's arse, frankly - but I do find your defense of these people you do not know rather touching.

[davidpdx]

88. No, I don't know Will Smith or his family

and your snark is uncalled for. I'm basing what I'm saying on the information available rather than rumor (which is what you and the person who posted it first are basing your posts on). If you want tabloid news I suggest you go to Free Republic or Fox News.

Personally I don't like Scientology, Mormons, Seven Day Adventists, or Jehovah's Witnesses. I find them all a little too cult like. I myself am agnostic, but was raised a christian (Protestant).

[2ndAmForComputers]

127. That's an EXCEEDINGLY ducky duck, if I may say so.

[kelliekat44]

35. Jaden is a rich kid who has never had to look for a job or feel the gripes of an empty stomach.

It's not that education is bad or unnecessary, it's what people do with it that matters.

[joshcryer]

106. The architects of modern education were Carnegie, Rockefeller, Ford, and J. P. Morgan.

Don't get me started about how public education was framed around Frederick W. Taylor's efficiency crap.

This is not a "new" paradigm. It has existed since the inception of public education.

[LWolf]

124. If that's "the purpose" of education,

then it's because the general public fucking ALLOWED it to become the purpose by enabling fucking corporate "reformers."

It's certainly ONE of the purposes of corporate education reform, the other being to privatize it in order to profit from the public money spent on education.

It's not the purpose of actual educators.

You want education to be about producing critically thinking, productive citizens? Put educators in charge of the system. Quit demonizing teachers, and quit participating in the destruction of the system by electing people who support corporate "reforms."

By "productive" citizens, I'm assuming you mean citizens that think independently and actively participate in their communities and governments, not productive worker drones.

It kills me to see the people that should be supporting and defending PUBLIC education propping up the ignorance and arrogance of this privileged little ass hat instead of attacking the source of the problem, not just with their voices, but with their time, energy, funds, and VOTES.

[Egalitarian Thug]

6. Both true and pathetic

The owners don't want that.

[liberal_at_heart]

9. So true I want to cry. I have a kid in high school right now and I can't tell you how bad it sucks.

[Egalitarian Thug]

66. I don't think I can even imagine how bad it is any longer.

It's one of the hardest things about arguing with the education deformers, they're not wrong when they talk about how truly awful most schools are.

Even a million years ago when I was in school, it consisted almost entirely marking time until I was eligible for parole on my 16th birthday.

[steve2470]

72. awesome video, thank you for posting that nt

[bhikkhu]

11. My daughter, in high school, enjoys science most

and plans to go into medicine. Perhaps Jaden Smith thinks she is being brainwashed, but I don't think Jaden Smith has a better path for her than she is working toward herself.

I had trouble in high school myself, years ago, but one of the best decisions I made a few years ago was to go back to college. Studying the humanities for two more years was perfectly pointless financially, but has set the stage richly and well for the things I most want to accomplish in my own later life.

If you have a purpose, just about any purpose, education serves it well. If you have no purpose school won't provide one for you.

[liberal_at_heart]

15. My daughter's senior science class spent a significant amount of time studying DNA.

I love DNA. I find it fascinating. So does my daughter. In fact she was one of the only ones who understood it and enjoyed it. But why such an emphasis on DNA? Could it be because that is where the scientific industry needs our schools to focus their energy so that biotech industries have future employees? My son enjoys astronomy. That is his favorite subject in science. He has to complete all his science requirements for graduation before he can take an elective astronomy class. There is something fundamentally wrong with the way our education system is set up.

[Humanist_Activist]

17. Uhm, DNA is the central subject of biology, it is the blueprint of life...

you are basically complaining that they had a biology segment in her Science class, which is beyond stupid to complain about. Its like asking why the physics section dedicated so much time on the 4 forces.

As far as your son, well, he will have to have some advanced mathematics, in addition to some physics courses, astronomy is more than just looking at stars, but actually knowing what you are looking at, how far away it is, along with figuring out its physical properties.

[Donald Ian Rankin]

27. Actually, I'm not convinced teaching schoolchildren about the nuclear forces is a good use of time.

Let them know that they exist, sure. But I don't think you can say very much interesting or significant about them until you've got to undergrad level.

Including DNA in a biology class seems self-evident, though.

[Humanist_Activist]

29. I learned about nuclear forces in high school, why was this unnecessary again?

Remember, this is high school level we are talking about, we didn't have physicists come in to teach us the nitty gritty about physical matter. Indeed, it was so general, it was bloody boring, not to mention outdated at that time, by about 50 years. We really need to update and improve the science curriculum in public schools, at all grade levels.

[Lil Missy]

12. Jadon NEEDS to have his brain washed. n/t

[aikoaiko]

14. When the rebellion comes, and people break his shit...

...then he'll understand the importance of conformity.

[dem in texas]

18. he's speaking as an immature 15 year old rich kid

Why would his opinion even be worth mentioning? Let alone having a long discussion about what he said.

[Skittles]

24. THANK YOU

[GalaxyHunter]

32. You could be an immature 15?

I won't take your words to seriously..

[Demit]

34. Exactly. It's a function of being a teenager, to pronounce on things.

A lot of teenagers are know-it-alls. He just has a wider venue, an eager media lapping up whatever he says. He'll grow up and probably wince a little when he thinks back on the stupid things he said as a kid that he thought were so clever.

[LuvNewcastle]

45. Agreed. Let's ask Honey Boo-Boo what she thinks about

the educational system while we're at it.

[otohara]

59. LOL

[Marr]

50. +1

[Turbineguy]

19. Not really

helpful. But hey, in a Republican Paradise we can always use another 4.5 million highschool dropouts!

[PowerToThePeople]

20. omg

[Nanjing to Seoul]

21. Fuck you, shitstain. I am a teacher and I brainwash no one

Get a fucking education and then talk to me.

Oh, and tell your mommy and daddy to stop making shitty, generic movies.

[GalaxyHunter]

33. Tell your teaching buddies to educate someone.

You can be against what he said but name calling gets you nowhere.

Like you care though...

[DonCoquixote]

54. if teachers were allowed to teach

then your point might have merit, but it does not.

[tavernier]

58. Thank You!

My SIL is a high school teacher - math, science, physics - and he helped to educate a lot of children who are doing very well in their chosen careers, through his caring and commitment. But he will tell you that the most important commitment must come from the parent/s.
But of course you and he will be the bad guys in this scenario because this society expects our children to "fixed" like our cars; if something isn't working, take it to the shop and let the mechanic deal with it.

[lumberjack_jeff]

60. I'm sure that the "shitstains" understand that you're not part of the problem. n/t

[bobduca]

117. hmm are you sure?

[lumberjack_jeff]

134. Not at all sure, actually. nt

[nolabear]

70. Wow. Shitstain? A 15 year old? Jesus.

He's a kid being mouthy. He's hardly speaking to your face.

[Nanjing to Seoul]

82. And he deserves to be called on it. Seriously. . .what is with teacher bashing and supporting it?

Yes. . .15 year old kids can be shitstains.

[nolabear]

111. No, they can't. And calling them that is worse than anything he said.

I'm not teacher bashing. I'm not supporting teacher bashing. He's a fifteen year old, and fifteen year olds are hard wired to believe that they're everything they're not--wise, far superior to adults, mature, intelligent, well informed--it's part of finding an identity and leaving childhood behind. Most of them just say these things among themselves or when they're angry to their parents or, yes, teachers. It's the parent or teacher's job to be more mature. Consequences? Certainly. But contemptuous name-calling isn't about the one being called the name. It's about the one doing the calling.

[Nanjing to Seoul]

113. Yes. . .even 15 year old kids are and thinking they aren't is delusional thinking

I will quote Carlin: "Every child is clearer not special." Clearly, Jaden Smith is clearly the type of kid Carlin was talking about.

[liberal_at_heart]

114. Even if a kid is acting a certain way you are not suppose to approach them with that attitude.

Due to a visual impairment and a bad home life my husband was not the best student. He was told by his principle he would never amount to anything. He had to attend alternative school in order to graduate high school. He ended up being a telecom engineer and doing very well for himself and for us as a family. Teachers are suppose to approach students with an attitude that no student is a throw away, and you're certainly not suppose to approach them with the attitude that they are a shitstain.

[Nanjing to Seoul]

115. And due to the beatings I got for 15 years, dyslexia and Asperger's, I was the same way

I was told I would be in prison now.

Guess what? I have to MA's and a PhD candidate in Chinese history.

Jaden Smith is a jerk. Pure and simple. His comments show that. I never brainwashed anyone. I want my students challenging and questioning me. I encourage it daily.

[bobduca]

118. "to MA's"

Let me fix that for you, teach: "two M.A.'s"

[Nanjing to Seoul]

138. my keyboard sucks and i don't normally care to edit. type and post fast

但是我喜欢你的居高临下的态度

[bobduca]

139. Google translate ?

是的，電影明星的孩子洗腦達基，，但侮辱排便並不能證明你的論點。

[Nanjing to Seoul]

142. I don't need google translate. I speak fluent Mandarin

现在，你需要走了。 谢谢你。 我不可以给你时间。 好吗？

那个笨蛋孩子需要长大。 他是他妈的傻逼，傻瓜和王八蛋

拜拜

And your Chinese with Google Translate is terrible.

[bobduca]

148. I know

that was why i needed google translate

[nolabear]

116. I am SO glad you never taught my sons.

So, so, so glad. One ill-thought comment from a child getting that kind of selfish, mean response from a teacher can change the course of a life. Mine were outstanding human beings who sometimes said obnoxious things. They are now outstanding men, everything I could want. You have young hearts in your hands and this is what you do with them. That you do it with such venom makes me fear for those who have been exposed to you.

I'm done. Nothing I could say would give you the self reflection I would wish.

[liberal_at_heart]

77. Our education system is broken. Jaden speaks out about it and he's a shitstain?

I guess that makes me and my autistic son shitstains too? I'm glad you're not my son's teacher.

[Nanjing to Seoul]

80. That makes two of us. I'm tired of teacher bashing!

One of the reasons I refuse to teach in America anymore.

[liberal_at_heart]

86. It's not the teachers. Well most of the time. There are bad teachers. For the most part,

it's the system. The entire system is broken.

[Gravitycollapse]

93. There are two sides to the bash/worship coin. You just happen to support worship...

Both sides are ridiculous.

Calling teenagers shitstains. Seriously, are you an actual teacher or some sorry soul posing as one on the internet?

I've never met a teacher or professor, and I've met many a colorful educators, who would resort to such nastiness.

[ZombieHorde]

81. A teacher that says "Fuck you, shitstain" about a 15-year-old kid.

Yeah...you're kind of making his point for him.

[Nanjing to Seoul]

83. And that's why I don't teach in the States anymore. I don't tolerate crap like this from anyone

And I'd call his parents the same thing if I was told I brainwashed people.

[ZombieHorde]

87. You're a bastion of critical thinking and wisdom. nt

[Gravitycollapse]

94. And I would fully support your immediate and well-covered termination.

[liberal_at_heart]

98. me too. Anyone who would call a kid shitstain should not be teaching.

[Codeine]

122. "Fuck you, shitstain."

You're my new favorite poster!

[piratefish08]

125. "fuck you, shitstain". from a teacher. to a 15 year old.

nice.

[2ndAmForComputers]

128. I hope you have a better grip of your temper while you're teaching.

[intaglio]

25. This would have nothing to do with his Scientology background, would it?

Any member of that cult moaning about "brainwashing" needs to get out of that cult

[blueknight]

26. he is

a spoiled fucking brat rich kid who has NO IDEA what the fuck he is talking about.

[chervilant]

28. What really irks you?

As a Lucky Sperm Club kid who doesn't have the same formal education as a lot of his fans (due to his career as an actor and rapper), and heck as a teenager in general, Jaden is speaking from an idealist, unrealistic, inside-the-bubble perspective.

Since you cannot be inside this young person's brain, you can only surmise his meaning and his intent.

Have you seen Sir Ken Robinson's TED talks on education? Perhaps you might view this assertion differently after watching those videos, which are free on YouTube.

[kelliekat44]

38. You are correct. And if Jaden had reasonably mastered some of the skills of formal education,

perhaps he might have been able to express himself better and we would not have to "surmise his meaning and his intent."

[HughBeaumont]

36. Yeah, because I want the person performing heart surgery to have learned it on their own devices.

Or the one engineering our bridges to have just been a mathematics anomaly.

We've seen the tragic result of what happens when we relied on luck, good-ol'-boy networking and nepotism while having no concern for long-term planning for the populace instead of a person who valued education and the attributes it brings when it came to choosing a leader.

[kelliekat44]

37. For many poor kids, school is the only place they will be able to experience the world around them.

Jaden is fortunate to be able to grow up wealthy, travel the world, and have the exposure that he has. But many children will be able to be exposed to the inside of their disheveled homes were it not for venturing to school. TV and movies are just as brainwashing as any other form of repetitive exposure. And in many cases the harm done by those forms of entertainment do their harm by setting before children the notion that the only thing that counts is wealth and the accumulation of things and the mutilation of fellow human beings...a false picture of real life. I do believe that travel and exposure to other places and people and the focus on teaching children critical thinking skills are important but when you are not in a life situation that provides for that kind of exposure school is where one child can get a little of it. Once again we have the elite making the rest of us feel bad because we are not them.

[vankuria]

44. Well said!!!

You hit the nail on the head!

[Frank Cannon]

89. +1. Very well said. n/t

[freshwest]

109. +1,000

[JaneyVee]

40. OH NOES! MATH! READING! SCIENCE! ARGH, IT'S SATANIC!

Moron.

[Paladin]

41. Since when do we pay attention to entitled 15-year-olds about education?

Go check your trust funds, Master Smith, and leave the grownups alone.

[RandiFan1290]

42. Just another idiot in 1%

Time to raise their taxes.

[LuvNewcastle]

46. Hell Yeah!

Since the education system is so shitty, maybe we need to get some more contributions from the Smith family.

[Tien1985]

47. For cripes sake

This is a 15 yr old. Lots of 15 yr olds feel this way and did long before Jaden Smith came around. He just has a huge platform to say it on.

It doesn't help that he's never wanted for anything. He can't grasp how bad NO education at all would be, and he just plain doesn't know that most people wouldn't be able to learn with schooling.

It also doesn't help that under all that 15 yr old bravado, exaggeration and ignorance there are quite a few grains of reality.

No, schooling won't brainwash you. But we do expect far too much uniformity--mostly because we won't pay the cost required for individualed education. Teachers can't be expected (though they often are) to provide 27 different courses of study and SUCEED. The result is many kids don't have the best chance of learning in most of their classes. Now, parents could step in and make up the difference, but many either can't or won't.

Kids aren't stupid and they can see there is a problem. Most don't, however, have the experience or the worldliness necessary to work out how to make things work to their advantage or even how to articulate what exactly they need. Throw in a splash of idealism and a sprinkle of "I'm insivinsible" and you have stuff like what he said.

It'll reach the level of dangerous stupidity if he is still saying it as an adult. Hopefully his parents will pull him aside and have a chat before then.

[Mass]

48. Just another 15 year old finding his way. Why does it matter any more than any other kid having the

same opinion? Because he is rich and famous?

I thought we were a progressive forum. Sometimes, I feel like we are on People Magazine.,.

[chervilant]

55. So true!

Excellent observation.

[arely staircase]

49. yeah drop out of school

brilliant

[abelenkpe]

51. Religion and Media do too

Does he want kids to stop attending church and watching tv and movies too?

[tridim]

52. 15 year olds are generally not very wise. I used to be one. nt

[JonLP24]

53. He isn't far off

IMO

[jessie04]

57. He's a victim.

The poor kid is from a broken home and has been kept down by the establishment....no wonder he hates school.

[JVS]

61. Anyone stupid enough to listen to that kid deserves to be so badly misinformed.

[lumberjack_jeff]

62. one-third of boys drop out of high school.

College students are 50% more likely to be girls than boys.

As the Jaden Smith example shows, it's not about wealth. He can see that since education isn't meant for him, he must find another way to reach his potential.

About one thing, I don't think he has it quite right. I think rebellion is education. If you're not rebelling, you're not thinking for yourself.

[liberal_at_heart]

84. absolutely. I agree. Thinking for yourself often means questioning authority and rebelling.

Rebelling is education. I absolutely agree.

[Taitertots]

63. Everyone should just tweet back, "If everyone stopped watching garbage programing and reading dumb..

tweets the world would be a more intelligent place.". Then everyone turns off their TVs and stops fawning over celebrities.

[Frank Cannon]

92. Particularly no-talent pseudocelebrities like Jaden Smith.

The kid can't sing, can't dance, and he sure as hell can't act. If it weren't for his famous parents, no one would give a flying fuck about this little twit or about anything he had to say on any topic.

[fried eggs]

64. Will and Jada are giving their kids too much freedom

From Willow shaving her head to Jaden's out of touch musings. Enough is enough.

[Sanddog42]

65. Looks like someone just watched "The Wall" n/t

[nolabear]

71. Oh it's obnoxious but he's fifteen. Obnoxious is normal.

Anything else that people who don't know him get all up in arms about is, imo, projection.

[Gravitycollapse]

99. I was a stupid asshole at 15. You can't hold such things against people that age.

Their brains are developing, their identities are evolving, they are constantly checking and trying new ways of thinking and new ideologies.

[nolabear]

112. In my field it takes a whole lot to diagnose a teen with a personality disorder.

They're all in a state that would be diagnosable at any other stage of life. Not that there aren't seriously troubled teens, but being impulsive, narcissistic, combative, selfish, wildly emotional, depressed (to a point), etc., is not necessarily an indicator there's anything abnormal and it won't be worked out. Of course sometimes that means you have to work like crazy to keep them from killing themselves or someone else out of sheer, well, teenagerness.

[steve2470]

74. yawn

I'll agree with him that part of your standard high school level education is akin to brainwashing, American history in particular. I never knew the more complete truth about my own country until I went to college. The complete and total truth about America is too radical to be taught in high school for TPTB.

The rest of what he calls "brainwashing" is his way of saying, kids are being forced to learn boring stuff like English, math, a foreign language, geography, etc. Kids have been saying this forever, including when I was a kid. Nothing new.

He's 15. Get back with us in 20 years with more insights, Jaden Smith.

[NightWatcher]

75. He should know about brainwashing. His folks are Scientologists

Why this is a story is a mystery to me.

[GoCubsGo]

90. Yep.

I'm surprised it took this long for someone to point that out.

[Agnosticsherbet]

76. All in all its just another brick in the wall....

[ZombieHorde]

78. First of all, he's 15.

Second of all, although I would never advise people to drop out of school, school nowhere near where it should be. The focus seems to be more about producing workers than critical thinkers.

[Posteritatis]

91. Heh. If a typical DUer's 15-year-old said this he'd get attaboys across the forum. (nt)

[liberal_at_heart]

95. yeah I think there is some rich celebrity hate going on here. Not to mention Scientology hate.

Not all rich people are bad. Look at Warren Buffet. Some rich people recognize there are problems with our economy, our politics, and our society. But I have to admit, I criticize the school system a lot too and hear a lot of defending the status quo. People just don't want to recognize the problems.

[Posteritatis]

100. That and I don't know many students at that age who didn't think along similar lines about it

My own take on things wasn't that far off from that then, and the same goes for most of my peers at the time who weren't completely indifferent to education in the first place.

[liberal_at_heart]

102. maybe that should tell us something. Maybe kids are naturally free thinkers until we get a hold of

them and crush their individuality, curiosity, and creativity.

[Gravitycollapse]

104. To be fair, Scientology is coo-coo for coco puffs.

Many religions have absurd origin stories. Scientology is exceptional in its silliness.

Not that I am 100% certain they are wrong. I just doubt the possibility that the creation of man involved volcanoes and nuclear bombs. Or that your inner thetan can be read by an "e-meter."

[liberal_at_heart]

105. I'm not a scientologist. I don't believe in their doctrine. I just see a lot of hate toward any

religion on this site. I think religion should be criticized when it creates problems, abuses, or discrimination. But there are many on here that would like to see all religion disappear and I have news for them. Not only would that not solve the problem they themselves display some of the same prejudices and discrimination that they are trying to get rid of by trying to get rid of religion.

[sabbat hunter]

141. I hesitate to call

scientology a religion.

It was invented by L Ron Hubbard on a bet. He even told a sci fi convention in 48 ""Writing for a penny a word is ridiculous. If a man really wants to make a million dollars, the best way would be to start his own religion."
2 years later he did just that.

[Major Nikon]

96. He's a brainwashed 15 yr old child of cult members saying exactly what you'd expect

Those that think he has a "point" should realize his parents founded a Scientology elementary school with the specific intent of brainwashing children in Scientology cult nonsense.

[applegrove]

101. I was going to say that. Funny how Scientology the cult and the GOP have

the same ideas on public education.

[madrchsod]

103. his school just went bankrupt and has shut the doors

smith was selling off some of his stuff to keep the school open but failed to raise enough money.

now his son will be home schooled or go to a very expensive private school.

[Major Nikon]

107. It's because they seek to brainwash children with fucked up fanatical ideas

What works with one works just as well with another.

Certainly not all homeschoolers seek to brainwash their children, but many do and Scientology encourages homeschooling and produces "educational" material for the same reasons fundies do. I work with a fundy who homeschooled his 4 kids from start to finish. They are all adults now. Out of the 4, his daughter left them with her child and they have no idea where she is or even if she's still alive(she has a long history with drug addiction). The next youngest is currently charged with felony domestic violence and may be headed to prison. The next youngest got kicked out of the military after 3 months because he's a drug addict. His youngest just wrecked his car in a single car accident and was arrested for drunken driving. Certainly not all of them do, but many of these people fuck up their kids for life. At some point it should be considered child abuse.

[applegrove]

108. Oh I think home schooling is very, very hard to do successfully. But less

so successful when all you want is a malleable puppet for your cult, be it scientology or Republicanism.

[pediatricmedic]

97. Has he ever attended a real school?

I am guessing he might have attended some rich prep school, but likely has his tutors at home or wherever he is vacationing most of the time.

[Decaffeinated]

110. He'll stay a solid C list celebrity....

... make a few more terrible movies and then fade away.

[JCMach1]

132. E list as in everything he has ever done has been an

EMBARASSMENT

[RZM]

119. This just in: Adolescent not brilliant commentator

I don't see the big deal. He's a sheltered teen who grew up in the biz. Probably had tutors his whole life. He's no expert on education policy, but we already knew that.

[yawnmaster]

120. And who "brainwashed" those ideas into his head?

Brainwashing is often misapplied.
Every interaction one has with others influences one's thoughts. That is how the mind works.
During one's school years one interactions with teachers is very significant, sometimes more than with parents (depending on the paranting style of course). Teachers can be highly influential. Brainwashing? No. Not likely. No more so than peers brainwash a friend.

He generated these thoughts based on influences by some teachers, parents, friends, tv, books, etc.
By his definition, these people and things actually brainwashed him into this thinking!

[cbdo2007]

121. From the kid who is only in movies his dad produces.

He's a major dumbass who has no clue how things work in the real world.

[Codeine]

123. This from a kid who will have a life-long, relaxing free ride on Daddy's money and coattails.

Who the fuck cares what this little over-privileged piece of shit has to say about anything? When he dies his entire contribution to life will be summed up with "He was Will Smith's son."

[2ndAmForComputers]

129. His statement would have much more credibility if he wasn't the son of a SCIENTOLOGIST.

Complainging about "brainwashing?" Oh the irony.

[bitchkitty]

130. Brat.

An entitled brat making stupid declarations, like many teenagers. The difference is that most don't make the news.

[JCMach1]

131. Scientology brainwashed brat

[Iggo]

133. Fucking moron.

But like most teenagers, he'll eventually grow out of it.

[Link Speed]

135. I never attended school

Nothing I ever learned from a book prepared me for what I now do.

Most of the formally educated people I know work for paychecks. I cannot imagine being tied to someone else's payroll account.

My grandfather never attended school and his inventions radically effected all of our lives.

[krawhitham]

136. To be young and stupid

Good Times

[sabbat hunter]

140. school brainwashes the youth

says the kid brainwashed by Scientology.

[Lex]

143. I am *so glad* there wasn't Twitter for me at 15 to tweet out the stupid things I thought. nt

[brettdale]

145. Fuck Jaden Smith

Little egotistic Narcissist, just like daddy.

[brettdale]

146. ps

Who cant act.