Scientology School for Tom Cruise’s Kids?
August 29, 2007I never cease to be amazed by the media’s ability to twist facts, distort truth, and portray things which are actually pretty cool in an entirely terrible light, just to be able to make some noise and gain readership.
Trolling around on the news today, I saw an article on Tom Cruise sending his kids to a “Scientology camp” in Oregon. Of course, nobody offers specifics, just makes their crude jokes and generally continues to violate a most basic principle of the Way to Happiness which is to simply respect the religious beliefs of others.
I actually attended and graduated from this “mystery school” in Oregon, so I feel I’m quite qualified to talk about it. It’s actually a school, not a camp, and though it absolutely uses the study technology of L. Ron Hubbard as well as some other non-religious data about leadership, problem solving, planning and communication, it is not a Scientology school at all.
Secondly, there is not one thing that is “mystery”, secretive, secluded or anything else about the place. You can go up and take a tour, if you want. It’s called the Delphian School, and it is one of the most beautiful campuses I have ever seen. It sits in the Yamhill Valey in Sheridan, Oregon, perched up on a hill. It’s got a stunning view of the valley, actually, and has a gym, basketball courts, horseback riding, science labs, a great library, and some of the best mountain-biking trails around.
Most importantly, though, that school creates kids who are leaders. Kids who instead of being robots or druggies or criminals or whatever actually are able to take responsibility for their own lives and their own studies, and be valuable people in the world.
The curriculum of the school is built around the fact that a student needs to first know how to study, has to have some manner of purpose for his studies, and after which he can take responsibility for his own education instead of it having to be forced down his throat like most “modern” education.
Then, the student studies at his own pace — which is as fast or slow as he can do, and some students go rather fast, graduating high school at the age of 16 and 17.
Others, like me, took every available course in math and science, whilst at the same time putting in 3-4 hours/day on the basketball and soccer teams, and then spending all other ‘spare time’ riding my mountain bike across all of creation. Yes, there are real-life sports teams at Delphi as well, and in particular sports (volleyball and soccer, when I was there) we were quite good and made it to the district and state championships routinely.
In my other spare time, I was building subwoofer systems and tinkering with chemical lasers, reading Shakespeare, and figuring out how to build my own speaker amplifier, while writing illustrated manuals on how to repair mountain bikes and doing an apprenticeship at a local bike shop.
Kids at Delphi stay real active, and they get COMPETENT.
My point to all this is that anyone who’s gone to or graduated from the Delphian School, and who’s had an education based on L. Ron Hubbard’s priciples, can speak volumes about how it changed their life. Personally, I went to Delphi because I couldn’t stand how little I was learning at my public school, and as such dragged my parents first to Boston and then all the way across the country to Oregon specifically so I could go to this school. This was at the age of 11. My parents ended up working there, they liked it so much.
So, that’s what this place is. It’s actually one of the coolest things any parent could do for a kid.
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Tags: tomcruise, scientology camp, delphian, oregon, religion, scientology
Haha! I haven’t seen that article yet, and I didn’t know Tom Cruise was sending his kids to Delphi.
I graduated from the Delphi school in Los Angeles, and I had a blast! Definitely the best education available.
Thanks again Jettero
” it absolutely uses the study technology of L. Ron Hubbard (….) it is not a Scientology school at all.”
Do you understand what you write ?
Nicolas –
Thanks for commenting. It’s an important differentiation to make, actually, between something that’s ‘Scientology’ and something which uses the Study Technology developed by L. Ron Hubbard. Study Technology is a very specific thing, which can be utilized in a completely non-secular fashion. For example, at the Delphian School, I had two Sikhs in my class whose religious beliefs had nothing whatsoever to do with their participation in school activities.
The main point is that if you’re a young individual trying to learn those things which will help you create your own life, the first thing to learn is how to learn. If you can study effectively, and evaluate what is important and what isn’t, you can then take responsibility for your own education and get smart at what you need to be smart at.
Quite different from the Scientology religion, which is something not itself taught at that school.
Nice Blog!
My son is 16 and on Form-7 (high school junior) at Delphi Oregon. He’s been there for his entire education.
We couldn’t be more pleased. He has developed way beyond our expectations and thinks for himself.
Thanks for writing a great article about the school! You speak for many!!
[…] ago when another “viral” round of hatchet-job posts were going around concerning the school in Oregon that Tom Cruise send his kids to. It’s trying to make a story out of nothing, so as to either (a) make a lame attempt at a […]
Hey! This is awesome. I currently am attending Delphi, and all that you are saying is completely true!! I’ve been having the time of my life there and getting opportunities I never even dreamed of. I just want to thank you for writing such an amazing article about the school because I really dislike it when people get the wrong idea of the school.
Thanks again!
Tom Cruise is a wonderful man and a great actor. i dont know why people hate on him because he has different way of thinking than other people. We aren’t all gonna believe in the same crap. So Tom keep up the good work and don’t worry about negative people
Absolutely! Get away from negative people. They suck your energy out and they want you to be unhappy and miserable like them . Well, I am a happy,productive, energetic and different. Tom Cruise is just an awesome and amazing artist!!!
I went to the Delphian School for seven years and graduated in 1989. GREAT school. Very supportive staff. My experience was very similar to Tad’s.
We could argue whether the Delphian School is a Scientology school or not. That would lead to questions such as whether technology taken from Scientology training materials, such as Study Tech, is Scientology. And ultimately you’d have to get agreement on what exactly is a “Scientology school”. As much as you like your definition, someone else may like their definition more.
But, if I’m understanding this post and comments, the issue here has more to do with trying to correct the whole phenomenon of negative publicity regarding Scientology, and by association, the Delphian School. Why are people down on Tom Cruise? Why is anyone hating a good person or a good school or a good set of tools?
It could be that such naysayers are just so negative, they are incapable of perceiving the truth. But I think that such a conclusion, itself, is too negative to lead to a solution.
I truly believe that what is occurring is a colossal failure to handle questions that have come up. On both sides. Honest originations regarding situations needing correction have been ignored for so long that well-intentioned people have become angry. Please have the courage to communicate and look and find out what these situations are. It might not be your job to handle the originations. But whoever should be handling them, isn’t. So then, who will?