Willow and Jaden Smith are living proof that a super-permissive set of parents can churn out some spacey kids. Will Smith believes that children should be given a lot of control at an early age, which is the way that Scientologists raise their children. The Smiths founded a now-defunct school that used CO$ teaching methods; so the little bit of formal education that Jaden and Willow have received has been Scientology-based.
These kids no longer go to school even though Willow is still 14, and Jaden is 16. He regularly tweets nonsensical blather, including telling his followers that school is a “tool to brainwash the youth,” and babies are more intelligent than adults. That last part sounds very CO$, which believes that children are simply adult souls trapped in younger bodies.
I’m not making fun of Jaden’s intelligence. He hasn’t received regular schooling, and it shows. Jaden and Willow have been allowed to do whatever they want for a long time. They both have new albums this month, so the NYT’s T mag profiled them, and it’s a doozy. The whole interview is here. Willow claims to be really into quantum physics, which was of interest to L. Ron Hubbard as he wrote the sci-fi novels that form the basis of Scientology. Former upper-echelon CO$ member Marty Rathbun has written at length about how quantum physics can be useful in “understanding” CO$.
The NYT journo only asks a few questions of Willow and Jaden, and they run a bizarre relay-monologue that continues unabated. Willow goes off on tangents like this: “And the feeling of being like, this is a fragment of a holographic reality that a higher consciousness made.” Then they start talking about controlling time:
On time
WILLOW: “I mean, time for me, I can make it go slow or fast, however I please, and that’s how I know it doesn’t exist.JADEN: “It’s proven that how time moves for you depends on where you are in the universe. It’s relative to beings and other places. But on the level of being here on earth, if you are aware in a moment, one second can last a year. And if you are unaware, your whole childhood, your whole life can pass by in six seconds. But it’s also such a thing that you can get lost in.”
WILLOW: “Because living.”
JADEN: “Right, because you have to live. There’s a theoretical physicist inside all of our minds, and you can talk and talk, but it’s living.”
On breathing:
WILLOW: “Breathing is meditation; life is a meditation. You have to breathe in order to live, so breathing is how you get in touch with the sacred space of your heart.”JADEN: “When babies are born, their soft spots bump: It has, like, a heartbeat in it. That’s because energy is coming through their body, up and down.”
WILLOW: “Prana energy.”
JADEN: “It’s prana energy because they still breathe through their stomach. They remember. Babies remember.”
WILLOW: “When they’re in the stomach, they’re so aware, putting all their bones together, putting all their ligaments together. But they’re shocked by this harsh world.”
JADEN: “By the chemicals and things, and then slowly…”
WILLOW: “As they grow up, they start losing.”
JADEN: “You know, they become just like us.”
On careers
JADEN: “What’s your job, what’s your career? Nah, I am. I’m going to imprint myself on everything in this world.”School is the unlearning of things:
JADEN: “Kids who go to normal school are so teenagery, so angsty.”WILLOW: “They never want to do anything, they’re so tired.”
JADEN: “You never learn anything in school. Think about how many car accidents happen every day. Driver’s ed? What’s up? I still haven’t been to driver’s ed because if everybody I know has been in an accident, I can’t see how driver’s ed is really helping them out.”
WILLOW: “I went to school for one year. It was the best experience but the worst experience. The best experience because I was, like, ‘Oh, now I know why kids are so depressed.’ But it was the worst experience because I was depressed.”
JADEN: “I have a goal to be just the most craziest person of all time. And when I say craziest, I mean, like, I want to do like Olympic-level things. I want to be the most durable person on the planet.”
WILLOW: “I think by the time we’re 30 or 20, we’re going to be climbing as many mountains as we can possibly climb.”
[From NYT – T Magazine]
Praise Xenu, these kids’ words read like robotic gibberish. They don’t know why babies’ soft spots exist, and they’re “in the stomach“? *shakes head* Jaden’s logic on how driver’s ed doesn’t prevent accidents is sad. That’s like saying doctors shouldn’t exist because people still die every day. Come to think of it, Scientologists don’t believe in medical care. They also believe that car accidents only happen to people who hang with non-CO$ types (suppressive persons). Jaden wants to be “the most durable person on the planet,” which may have something to do with the Clear (or practically immortal) state. I don’t know where the “prana” fixation fits in with the CO$. That word originated from in Hindu philosophy, and quantum physics grabbed onto the term.
Will and Jada have the freedom to raise (or not raise) their kids however they see fit. They’re doing Willow and Jaden a huge disservice, but there’s enough family money to pad these kids’ lives (and therapy sessions) forever. What bothers me is that Jaden and Willow make music that kids listen to. My teenage daughter has heard a few of Willow’s songs and enjoyed them. We’ve looked at Jaden’s crazy tweets together and discussed. Normal parents must work overtime when influential, lazy parents like Will and Jada Smith let their own kids talk smack about education.
Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet
I’m not going to poke fun at their grammar because I’m sure that mine was just as bad when I was their age (it might be bad today too, lol). What I find ridiculous is the rest of their crazy package, I almost feel bad for them. Almost…when you’re in the 1% of the 1% it’s hard for me to work up much sympathy.
I hope your grammar wasn’t THAT bad at 14 and 16. These kids can’t properly form a sentence. Example: “Because living.” WHAT?!?! These two have been given too much freedom and it shows, but I don’t care about that. What really grinds my gears, however, is that these two are free to knock the education system without having any insight that they have the luxury to do so. No matter what happens, because of Daddy Dearest they will always be fine.
Yes, they sound like uneducated fools, but that particular example isn’t poor grammar, it’s a popular slang construction. “Because [X].” It’s all over the place. So I guess J & W must mingle occasionally with actual humans. And I don’t think these two actually have much influence; give teens *some* credit for recognizing phony when they see it.
@Orly – You’re a kind soul. I just can’t give them that kind of slack. Willow thinks babies grow “in the stomach” and Jaden used to the term “most craziest.” So, no ma’am. I’m going to stick with my original thoughts. 🙂
Their parents are in the 1%. I think when you have parents that had nominal education but are hugely successful, education is not important.
Unfortunately, this is not just a Smith message but a message of some Hollywood elite. I am talking about Tom Cruise, Bruce Jenner ( half of the Kardashian’s graduated from College), and Hogans.
I rather you do a half assed stint in NYU than this.
I knew these kids would get slammed when I read the NYT piece. And I dont think thats fair. Yes, I said it! Next to practically every other celebrity kid, glad denisemich named some of them, they actually sound halfway smart.
Now, sure its easy to laugh at a 14 year old who talks like shes having an existential crisis but be honest, it takes a certain degree of self-awareness to give some of these responses. For instance that quote on how you determine how you experience time is spot on. It may well be a Scientology teaching but its a concept that has been explored since man first learnt to meditate. I’m glad a 14 year old is living by this principle.
Sure they are highly critical of school but going by the interview thats because they believe that the acquisition of knowledge can actually be undermined by formal education. And the way “learning” is structured in formal environments is actually counter productive. Dont we all know people who make us cringe at their inability to apply reason even though they passed through the system with flying colors?
Their parent joined a cult, thats a bad thing and hardly their fault. Frankly, ll things considered these kids are doing just fine. At the very least they have learnt to think critically and even better they are not afraid to be different. Those qualities may well save them from Scientology.
Yeah I actually agree with all of this. They sound more interesting than the average teen, even if they are crazy cult kids.
Jane, I completely agree with you! Thank you for responding–I held out hope one would as you did.
@Jane – RE: “Sure they are highly critical of school but going by the interview thats because they believe that the acquisition of knowledge can actually be undermined by formal education. And the way “learning” is structured in formal environments is actually counter productive. Dont we all know people who make us cringe at their inability to apply reason even though they passed through the system with flying colors?”
Is this similar to what they stated in the full interview? I’ve only read excerpts and this doesn’t sound like anything they said. I think these are your opinions projected on to them. Now, this could have very well been what they meant, however, it was not articulated as such. Not at all. If one can’t properly formulate and articulate a thought, it’s wise to not speak of the merits or demerits of education.
I find their opinios/thoughts fascinating. Obv cos influenced but still… Intriguing.
these kids critisize education while actually dearing to use words such as “quantum physics”. It’s embarrasing for their parents. If you guys find their half -baked opinions “intriguing”, I guess it’s time to improve your own education. But of course, it’s easier to read Jaden’s tweets or some easy-to-didgest Paolo Khoelo housewife philosophy than to try to acquire some actual knowledge.
PS. When you learn at school, however imperfect it is, you learn “to learn”. You learn to build a logical chain, find your own mistakes, analyze and assess and seek verifications. Without it, your mind is a mess of disconnected thoughts and ego-fueled self-perseptions. Quod erat demonstrandum.
Jayne, totally agree with everything you said. Spot on.
I, for one, would rather listen to these two wax lyrical on their adolescent comprehension of some pretty heavy ideas than listen to Kylie Jenner talk about lip liner again. Granted their understanding is half baked and obviously CO$ based but at least they’re discussing ideas.
HH
Just read the NYT piece. Excerpts have the unfortunate effect of over digesting nuanced arguments. Its pretty clear that they have an interest in philosophy and they are reading. These arent semi-literate or lazy children.
“Here’s the deal: School is not authentic because it ends. It’s not true, it’s not real. Our learning will never end. The school that we go to every single morning, we will continue to go to.” <<<Thats a quote from Jaden.
@Brandi – Thanks, but I read that quote in the Daily Mail article and I still don’t find that to be in support of Jane’s interpretation. Actually, I find that quote to be an absurd statement in general. His assertion that traditional schooling is invalidated because it ends, doesn’t make any sense. I agree that there is a difference between education and certification (i.e. you can be smart, cultured, and well-read without having a diploma, degree, etc); however, choosing a different path doesn’t automatically discredit another one.
@Jayne, I agree with you. I actual understand the points they are trying to make. First off school is a form of government programming. Majority of what we teach is out of date, highly controlled information that’s not entirely practical. Also, what they mentioned about Prana energy is factual and supported by science. I hear a lot of conscience people discuss controlling time- controlling time just means you are shifting your awareness so the concept of time does not matter and in that way it can appear slower or faster.
I’d rather hear this than teen Duggars. At least it’s interesting.
As a public school teacher, I can tell you that mommy and daddy Smith should be ashamed of their children’s “opinions” on education, however educated or uneducated they are. Motivation to perform well in *any* type of school setting is a major challenge in the USA. Children from many other countries, in particular girls, DIE to go to these “angsty, regular” schools. And this is what these smug punks say? Smh,
I smell celebrity rehab, or at least some head shaving and public tantrums, just around the corner…let’s just hope they get out of my face soon.
Jayne,
Everyone knows how the Scientologists comb websites to find negative comments and try and justify/debunk them. Face it: these kids are illiterate. That’s how idiots like Cruise and Travolta are members. Complete idiots and “followers”.
I’ve heard the same shallow philosophies in stoner circles, teen and adult alike. Blow hole sounds from the undereducated and overly pampered…so…trite. Yawn.
…and “most craziest.” We learned in elementary school that you either said (for example) “craziest” or “most crazy,” but that you never used “most” and “-est” together.
They both sound like bright kids, creative kids, inquisitive kids. The kind of kids who could kick some impressive creative or intellectual ass in school, if only they went to school. Instead, they’re bring raised to be arrogant and ignorant, and that’s a tragic waste of two promising minds. Their education is clearly cafeteria plan, the instant gratification of choosing what looks tastiest and flashiest today – all carbs and no protein – rather than what will nourish their minds and teach them the discipline and humility necessary in order to be a full and well-rounded human being and understand their place in the world.
Well, Jaden’s hijinx at the Kimye wedding (which he attended in Italy, apparently without adult supervision), the costume he put on and the ruckus he caused – it all shows the way he’s being raised as an entitled, over-privileged and under-educated kid. To be raised by wolves might actually be more educational and realistic.
They come off as kids who’ve never heard the word “no,” in general and academically. One of the greatest skills you can hone is the ability to create and defend an argument.
Great comment, Lahdidahbaby. You stated it much better than anyone else here.
plus a million! you nailed it
exactly
Poor kids.
I’m from eastern Europe, and I’ve always thought that if kids do not attend school (or at least learn at home and only come to pass exams), the children service gets involved.
They will if the children are registered at a school and do not attend regularly. I’m assuming that these kids are on the books as homeschooled/privately tutored, and the state won’t get involved there. Homeschooling doesn’t require you to come in to school to pass exams.
It depends on the country. I’m from Southeastern Europe and homeschooling is illegal here, unless the child is physically unable to attend class. And I think that’s a great thing. Thankfully, our public school system is really good.
Will and Jada could just say they’re being home schooled or have tutors. I think the laws vary from state to state. In New York,where I live, there’s compulsory education. A child has to be registered in school or be home schooled. If kids are enrolled in school and don’t attend they are considered truant and children services could get involved.
Truancy is the least of the problems that Child Services has to deal with where I live. It is low on the list. Sad but true.
Please don’t judge homeschooling on the basis of these children. I home-schooled my daughter because the public schools in the area did not meet my standards – they were a joke and the private schools weren’t much better unless you could afford $20k for kindergarten and it went up from there. By the time my daughter was 17, she was fluent in 3 foreign languages, had completed and tested for AP Calculus, Physics, Chemistry, History, and English. She played soccer, studied piano and volunteered at a local senior citizens center. The money I would have spent on tuition I used to further her education – she traveled extensively so she was able to experience other cultures first hand. She went on to complete university studies in engineering and attended on a full scholarship. She started her own consulting business while in school and went full-time with it upon graduation. She was not a prodigy – she was and is a very hardworking human being who learned how to set goals and work towards them. I claim no credit for her success – I opened doors and made opportunities available to her and she took advantage of them and ran with them. Incidentally, in most areas the states do get involved – either you are tested at a local school or you must document testing by a recognized independent auditor. Finally, I am not slamming formal education – if you are fortunate enough to live in an area where you have schools that can actually meet the standard of excellence. Forgive these children for they know not what they say… I’m guessing they never even heard of Malala.
Bravo, Frenatus. What an impressive kid and what an impressive parent. You should write about this.
Is is wrong that I read these interviews and don’t think poor kids? I hate these children. I know – I’m a horrible person. But Jaden and his douch face just ticks me off royally. Very easy to say education is stupid (which is what most uneducated idiots try to say) when you have more money than some 3rd world countries before your 16th birthday. Assholes.
Rollling!!!!
No- you are not wrong. These 2 kids/young adults will be 2 more people in the world with nothing to contribute to society. They are way too full of themselves to ever think of others
I think they are very much a product of their upbringing and parents. I definitely would not say” poor kids”. They have SO much and can badmouth school and sound ridiculous and not have to worry how it will affect their ability to make ends meet in the future. They are also, sadly, VERY representative of our society that celebrates mediocrity and gives fame and credit based on family ties, money, sensationalism and not on talent or hard work.
Their financial future is certain (thanks to mommy and daddy). So they can sound totally crazy and make no sense- and will always have the bills paid.
I am guessing Will and Jada are so pround of their kids in this interview. The apple doesn’t fall from the tree.
PS: It must be really rough at NYT these days. REALLY tough. 🙂
@Frenatus. You did it the way it is suppossed to be done and I doubt you had access to the income those kids have.
Just the fact that those kids know only one language is pathetic. I may have the wrong info, but even Will is said to speak Spanish and he couldn’t invest in making sure his kids knew more than one language?
I admire what I’ve read about the way the Jolie Pitt kids are being educated but the Pinkett Smith kids’ education seems to have been treated like a joke by their parents. So very sad.
With you Sarah. What makes it sad is that some teenagers out there will look at these two elitist, entitled, uneducated idiots and somehow think of them as role models because they have money, appear on television and get interviews. ( same with the illiterate Kardashian clan).
Beyond the fact that they have been poorly parented, they are so obviously out of touch with reality. For most kids, getting an education and staying in school (or receiving a solid homeschool education, I am not putting that down) is really the best path to a successful life. Not the only way, we all know examples of billionaire entrepreneurs who dropped out of Harvard or successful athletes /actors/ singers, but for each example like that there are thousands of dropouts stuck in basic jobs with minimum wage, whose mum and dad won’t leave them a $20 million trust fund and who will struggle to make ends meet.
Seriously I can’t get past his facial expressions. :/ This article makes me glad my kids go to public school. lol
It must take so much effort to keep his eyebrows like that. The question is, whyyyy?
Erm
“Because fashion”: (!)
skim through just the first 750 pages of haute ads in any Vogue, and marvel at the scenes of protesting Sicilian dames (D&G) and similar dames deriving sexual gratification from ginormous handbags…..and All The Young Dudes in ALL the ads are doing this eyebrow-furrowing thang….I guess in imitation of James Dean, but looking like someone asked them to add up 2+2, and confused them. Bless.
Yet another reason never to read Vogue!
And yes, that is the perfect description for the look.
I’d always assumed he never puts down the pipe. He looks just like JB who hasn’t been sober in years.
I know they can control time.. but with that brow he’ll have wrinkles on his forehead by the age of 16.
“Willow then rather bizarrely claims that time is a concept that she can control with her mind. ‘I mean, time for me, I can make it go slow or fast, however I please,’ she says. ‘That’s how I know it doesn’t exist.’ ”
The ability to control something that doesn’t exist, now that’s impressive!!
“The ability to control something that doesn’t exist, now that’s impressive!! ”
Lol…lol lol lol
Great comment….
Great comment, Nemesis!
His face must hurt.
She, on the other hand, is beautiful. She’ll be stunning when she grows up. How tall are they? With that face, she could easily be a model if she’s tall enough.
You know, as annoying as their pretentious twaddling is, it’s more sickening for people to look at a 14 year old girl who’s at least trying to showcase her intellect (even if it’s a bit eye-rolling) and reduce her to her looks, as if that’s what her contribution to the world should be.
The irony is, you look up angst in the dictionary and there is Jaden’s scrunchface.
And he makes that idiotic mouth breather expression in every.single.photo. I don’t condone making fun of kids but is there no one in his life to tell him how stupid he looks?
He looks constipated to me. I wish he would stop making that face, it’s beyond ridiculous!
It’s the same face Bieber makes and it makes me want to smack both of them. I just have an irrational hatred of that expression.
It seems as though he does that in almost EVERY PICTURE!!! It must be the cool thing to do…or perhaps he is forming those wrinkles to throw a “wrinkle” in the space-time continuum.
I was with them all the way until the end when they started saying school/education is useless.
The first half of the interview sounds like they smoked a lot of herb and are high giving a fun cosmo-sounding interview. But the last part is a shame. Education rocks!
With that said, all teenagers sound like a-holes when you talk to them, like they think they know everything. And these two, celebrity or not, are no different. Ah, teenagers.
My thoughts exactly. They sound like they are completely high.
Totally agree. And true to The Way of the Teen, they think they’re more enlightened than their peers.
This reminds me of one of my favorite J.K. Rowling via Dumbledore bits of wisdom: “Youth cannot know how age thinks and feels. But old men are guilty if they forget what it was to be young…”
Give the teens a break, they might be a little wiser in a few years.
ok then……………..
This is my new go to funny post.
lol. Whatever, Jada and Will look hot in that picture.
You nailed the last paragraph. While I understand they can raise/not raise them however they want, it really is a huge disservice to those kids. Could you imagine if any little Tommy or Suzy started muttering this stuff on the playground? Not only would they be made fun of but I’m sure their parents would get a “wtf is with your child?” note home from the teacher. The crap that the rich and eccentric can get away with never ceases to amaze me.
I think its also a huge disservice the way they’re opening up their children to public ridicule. We already knew that this is how these two speak, and how it would be received. This just feels mean.
Scientology is a ruthless religion.
These kids are either brainwashed or totally on board with the CO$ selling points.
As teenage celebrity Scientologists their responsibility is to recruit impressionable youngsters into a life of servitude and misery.
But what about the other people? The managers, the handlers, the people affiliated with the magazine. The non $ci people. This is truly embarrassing, which pretty much anyone could have predicted.
Ironically, they are only PROMOTING public education and strict parenting.
Yep, these two are the prime reason why you should stay in school kids!!!
If Willow went to school she would know that babies don’t grow in a ‘stomach’.
Geeesh these two should spend less time with the Kardashians and more on proper books. They are so alienated from the real world that really is worrying.
I don’t get it though.. Will Smith used to be really big (and for some he still is) but he was never a famewhore, snooty or pretentious..and Jada Pinkett seems ok too. Why are they raising their children like this? As if they don’t care at all?
Also.. Quantum physics my darling is a difficult, difficult matter… and probably only a genius could deal with it without proper school teaching, and I’m pretty sure this is not the case.
If Willow can bend time and control it I want the 2 minutes I spent reading this story back!
“If Willow can bend time and control it I want the 2 minutes I spent reading this story back!”
yup, spit out my coffee. bravo.
Not to defend teenage ignorance but- I think what she said was actually more along the lines that babies take deep breaths, filling the stomach/diaphragm (yoga) vs. how most of us come to breath, filling the lungs/chest. http://www.rodalenews.com/diaphragmatic-breathing-and-health
That’s how I understood her point as well.
She said both. She said they grow in a stomach and that they “breathe through their stomachs.” Which I translated into what you are saying, they take belly breaths. Last time I checked, though, they grow in a uterus and breathe through their noses and mouths. But yes, I think that is what she is trying to say.
So these kids are, hands down, a bucket full of indoctrinated crazy. But she did say “they still breathe through their stomach” which I think she meant deep, meditative breathing that Buddhists and new agers promote, not that they’re breathing through their mother at that point. I think she was talking about after birth how they’re so smart they even still breathe in a meditative way, then our terrible world forces them to forget. Most people stomach breathe as children then move up to high chest breathing which proponents of deep stomach breathing say causes tension and unhappiness. …. I had a proff try to tell me this was fact in some pseudo sciencey health class, where she also claimed mediation cured cancer.
I don’t know man. They sound like sound pieces for a cult to me.
And that little girl doesn’t understand quantum physics, but quantum physics is frequently used by people to validate their *cough* religion. Which you see her doing.
Jaden won’t be landing space probes on comets any time soon, then.
Question: are they not getting education completely or being home schooled. Cause in some countries it is illegal to not attend any form of education until 16(illegal for the parents). How does it work over there,especially in ‘rural’ areas?
Homeschooling is legal in the US – I’m pretty sure in every state. Most (or most I know) homeschool families are extremely religious and they purchase Fundamentalist Christian curriculum – you know *funny* science, etc. However, some people we know homeschool on principle. They practice “Unschooling” which is supposed to be child led – for example – if you child loves airplanes, you’re supposed to build your schooling around that topic, but it should include the math aspect, the science aspect, etc. IMO, it rarely works that way… In our area, you just have to say you’re homeschooling, but there isn’t any proof you have to provide.
REALLY? How do you know your child completed the standards well? some people could be faking it .
In my country, if a child really cannot go to school he can study at hem and present exams in a federal office to validate his/her studies according to the programs.
.
I just cannot believe that these homeschooled children do not follow a national curriculum, that they do not have to show they have the knowledge of the contents. No wonder the Duggars et al believe the dinosaurs coexisted with humans I thought you guys were joking in those other threads.
Now these 2 are into higher learning when I remember clearly that Willow said a while ago that she did not know Math, and now she is into Quantum Physics??????
Yeah, I’m pretty sure it is illegal not to either be in school or home schooled younger than 16.
In America, homeschooling is legal and is not regulated at all. All of the people I know who homeschool their children use a “Christian curriculum” which is complete and utter BS. They use it as a way to shield their child from a proper education that includes evolution and sexual education. Some people actually make sure their kids are learning at a proper age level, many do not and most religious-based homeschool children can’t get into traditional colleges, so they go to private religious colleges, if at all. Some parents make sure their child is active in their community, most of them are limited to interactions with other homeschooled children and church members, for fear they might learn too much about the real world and stray from their parent’s lifestyle. I really wish it would be made illegal, but people would flip out.
Or regulate it better.
In defense of home schooling, most families I know who practice it have children who are gifted in some area. They don’t do it for religious reasons, and instead do it so their child can focus on their particular gift.
Eh. I was homeschooled in 9th and 10th grade. Public school until that point and private after. My mom had been a teacher prior to having kids, so she understood curriculum. For the subjects she didn’t feel equipped to adequately teach, such as biology labs and chemistry- I took from a tutor. I dissected more animals and brains and body parts than anyone else I knew in public school the year I took biology. I liked the flexibility that homeschooling offered, but I was too much of a social butterfly, and missed the social interactions of regular school, so I went back for my last 2 years. I was ahead of the curve when I got back into mainstream high school, graduated at the top of my class and then went on to a top ranked university and did well there also.
Saying that it should be illegal is a little extreme when there are plenty of people who do it correctly and do it well.
That statement is not accurate. Homeschooling is legal but regulated differently from state to state. Many public schools even offer an online homeschool curriculum. In Florida, you must register as a homeschooler and take state competency testing or consent to audit. Another option is to register under a private school “umbrella” where there is a high degree of variability in terms of content and quality. I homeschool one child and send the other to private school. He is an athlete and the flexibility of homeschooling allows more balance for our family. I have a Masters in Science but supplement with tutoring through a homeschool co-op and extracurricular art, music and foreign language lessons. Three years ago I would have told you homeschooling was for those special extremist/conservative types many have referred to in their comments. I am somewhat disappointed by these uninformed and disparaging remarks – not typical of the quality of posts I have come to enjoy at Celebitchy.
@Stephbpt, I may be misunderstanding what you said, but if three years ago you had these same beliefs, why not be more tolerant of someone currently believing this? Your post will educate those here on the diversity of homeschooling. No need to criticize those with opposing beliefs.
Actually, homeschooling *is* regulated in many states. I was homeschooled in Florida and we had annual evaluations with a licensed teacher who reviewed our progress, read through our work, etc., and made sure we were progressing at or ahead of the standards for the grade level that corresponded with our age. However, when we lived in Texas there were no regulations.
I’ve known quite a few homeschooled children and the lifestyle does vary widely from family to family, and even from child to child. For instance, I had a great deal of freedom (my mom used the “unschooling” model for me) but my sisters had a daily curriculum because it suited their personalities and learning style.
I suppose what I’m trying to say is that a) you can’t judge all homeschoolers based on Willow and Jaden, and b) it’s difficult to accurately generalize homeschoolers in the first place.
What I don’t understand about will is that his oldest son had a traditional education and goes to college.
Probably because he was raised primarily by his mother.
Yes, different mama.
Maybe Will’s ex-wife didn’t drink the kool-aid, hence the eldest kid is not a toolbox.
Right? And wasn’t Will always a big proponent of education? I thought he was really intelligent and excelled in school.
Yeah me too but he’s either realised his younger kids are a waste of space or that they don’t need an education because they’re filthy rich.
That must have been before he immersed himself and his family ass-deep in Scientology. I’m just glad his first kid seems to be getting a decent education away from all this crap.
Yes I read that Jada remarks how differently the oldest was raised. Think these 2 are a product of Jada… Frightening !!!
Yes but his oldest son also has a different mother, who probably did her best to keep him out of the CO$ loony bin. Will and Jada are both CO$, so there’s no one to advocate for a different parenting style.
His oldest son wasn’t raised in the spotlight the way these two have. It’s easy to say school is useless when education is a luxury. Most of us go to school both for legal purposes and because our financial future relies on our ability to perform decently in a classroom. If we didn’t have to work for our money, we’d probably think it was stupid, too.
(It’s kind of the mindset – why do you think rich kids skip classes in college? Because it’s easy to get a passing grade when Mommy and Daddy can pay for it.)
His oldest son is educated and yet has still chosen to be a DJ ie. coast by on his dad’s connections. (DJ &/or model being the default dilettante professions of celeb children). So getting an education is great. Using it would be even better.
I think when it will hit for J & W is when they try to continue their careers. They seem like they both want & expect careers in showbiz and in order to succeed as adults they’ll need either to be so talented that their behaviour is indulged, or they will have to learn how to be more appealing to the public. I think Jaden will struggle with that in particular since he doesn’t have his dad’s charm (or height).
It’s scary
yeps..I wrote a long comment about this but actually there’s not much to say apart from that. I hope they somehow can escape the indoctrination sooner than latter.
I read these quotes last night and it was crazy and fascinating at the same time. Thier whole outlook is a direct result of Will and Jada’s beliefs and parenting or lack there of. They don’t even seem to have common sense and I feel sorry for them.
This is what can happen with too much freedom, time and money. Hope the Smith fortune holds out for at least six more decades, because these mountain climbers are likely going to need it.
Agree. If they wouldn’t have the money to fulfill all of their (probably over the top) desires they would reconsider about the importance of education and per instance a drivers license when you don’t have a chauffeur to drive you around. What the hell, even with all the money shouldn’t they care that they could actually be also intelligent or at least informed people??
No. This is what happens when your parents join the cult of Scientology. This is ALL Scientology.
These kids could have access to the best education available, but their parents can’t be bothered to, you know, parent and make them go to school. It’s so infuriating when there are people in this world begging and dying to learn! What a waste.
THIS.
Politics, law and order aside, Malala came to mind when i first heard their quotes on Education.
LAK, your single sentence broke my heart, and made me stop eye-rolling these kids and laughing at them. now I just feel sorry for them. I hope other posters realize what you wrote.
Exactly! And these kids scoff at the idea of proper education as if it’s physical torture or something. It’s such a shame.
I think about Jon Stewart’s rant on calling someone a little girl. Such a powerful, powerful statement.
Exactly. They could go to the best schools and chose whatever they want to study.
When I was going to university, picking my major was heavily influenced by my future employment posibilites. My first choice would have been literature, but I would never find a job with that. It’s so sad that they have all these opportunities and they just toss them away.
Same. I enjoy what I do, but when you come from a single mother, working class background, you don’t “follow your dreams,” you follow the money. You compromise the vision for something satisfying that can still pay the bills.
That was my thought too. The type of education their parents could have given them is priceless, and they chose not to. How sad, and what a terrible disservice to their kids – especially as you said, it’s something many have to fight for. Like LAK said, look at Malala and other girls who simply want the right to an education. Look at the kids who have to walk miles just to get to school. Look at the people who work all day and then go to night classes, to get an education.
The kids will pay for it in the long run. They will be completely uneducated, but also won’t have street smarts or a strong work ethic, and will probably end up doing very little worthwhile. They seem lazy and, as rude as it is for me to say, stupid. Will and Jada should be ashamed.
GOATS yours is my favorite comment. Many people are DENIED education – and not just women. Some famous astrophysicist is from India and was the wrong caste to go to school. He would stand outside the school window every day and try to read what was on the blackboard. Today he is brilliant and famous, but imagine the difficulty!!!
These kids are so poorly informed they don’t even know how much they don’t know. Apparently Jada just says “yes dear” whenever they speak. They are convinced they are going to be epic. They’ve both had movies and videos purchased for them, so they probably believe they really are talented. They are completely insulated from having to make sense, having to get a job, having to get along with people, or having to work to achieve something. At this point I don’t see how either one of them can amount to anything, ever.
Education is a privilege and, ultimately, a joy. Public school education in the USA is reprehensibly bad, but at least if a student is motivated, the knowledge is available. Dissing education is the worst kind of stupid.
Goats, well said.
Here in the UK you have to be in school until 16 you can leave after that. Parents can get fined if kids are not in school reason I am the only one coming to the US for Thanksgiving for the past 3 years
In the U.S you have to stay in school until you’re 16 as well. You can, however, be home-schooled, which is what these two are doing.
Don’t homeschooled kids in US have to show up at school once in a while or at the end of semester to pass some exams and actually prove that they’ve learnt something at home?
Supposedly home-schooled. Well, I suppose the home-schooling is a Co$-approved curriculum, which means it’s nothing more than cult influence cowering behind the First Amendment to mask what it really is – evil garbage.
@Doris, no they do not have to show up to take exams (at least where I live). Not sure how they prove to the state that they have to prove they learned something. Most people I know that home schooled, did so until their child reached 7th or 8th grade and then they went to a regular school. As a former teacher I would not have home schooled my children because my area of expertise is Math and math related sciences, i.e. physics, chemistry, etc. While I could teach English, Social Studies and sciences such as biology and life science, I would not feel like I was not giving them everything they needed in those subjects. JMO.
In my state homeschoolers have to pass a state certified test at the end of every school year.
Ditto British Columbia. You’re in school until 16.
It’s actually really sad that their parents have let them be raised like this. Every single thing in that interview is nonsensical. They are brainwashed idiots who can’t string a sentence together. It’s easy for them to say education is a waste of time, it’s not like they will ever have to worry about getting a real job or how they’re going to pay their mortgage.
They’re just kids, but still – I’m embarrassed for them. They think they’re the coolest, most together… and they say stuff like this in public.
The Smith kids have read a few books and are now parroting what they’ve read without really understanding it.
Yeah they’re just repeating what CO$ and their parents have taught them.
Well, traditional elementary and high school education is still focused on rote learning and pouring facts into students instead of getting them to think critically. So, on the unlearning front, they’re not wrong.
That’s a sweeping statement and not true for every school district. There’s a wide variance in the United States on how children are taught. I have two children in school and volunteer in the classroom and I disagree that my children are not taught to think critically.
Absolutely not true everywhere. Depends on country, state or province, city and neighbourhood. Depends on having brilliant, dedicated or complacent teachers. Depends on the curriculum which again, it is a function of where you live and schools have quite a bit of leeway in how they accomplish the goals. My son is in a brilliant school in Ontario and he is definitely learning how to think critically. He also has to memorize thinks like multiplication tables, the components of the digestive / nervous / respiratory system, because as far as I know that’s the only way to learn them….
Just as an aside, in order to think critically, you first need to have facts to think about. You cannot think critically in a vacuum, you need a reference system.
where does their older brother stand on all these points?
Also, “And the feeling of being like, this is a fragment of a holographic reality that a higher consciousness made.” PARKLIFE!!!!
One of the goals as a $cientologist is to control MEST (matter, energy, space & time). That quote SCREAMS $cientology.
I couldn’t get through this. I just wanted to scream at them to go pick up a (non-scientologist, logical) book. And kids in school are miserable because school is hard and they’re learning and growing, which is painful if you’re actually putting in the effort.
And OMG, the whole “we’re going to be awesome at 30, even 20! I can do whatever I want!” thing. No, you can’t. Pipe down. Do these kids not realize that without education and the subsequent knowledge and technology reaped from it that none of their or their parents’ success would be possible? That if we all just spent our days meditating and talking such nonsense and not trying to create order out of the world we would still very much be a tribal world? I could go on. These two are complete idiots and they have no one but their parents to blame. Maybe one day they’ll be like Katy Perry and realize they missed out by not having an education.
These poor kids. They’re so blind and they don’t even know it. Worse, they think they know better than everyone else. Here’s hoping they grow out of it and get the sand out of their eyes.
I agree, my kids think school sucks, as all kids their age do… so did I! But I can’t imagine where I’d be without an education. Of course my parents didn’t have enough money to support me for life, but still. I think it’s sad they are not in some type of school.
This whole their parents have enough to support them for life bothers me. They could lose it all in a heart beat. Then where would they be. Plus, they should have some knowledge of how to deal with their money. Look at Theresa G who just signed papers without reading and understanding them.
at swack
that’s just an excuse for theresa g. sound better to say i’m stupid, than a criminal. she’s playing dumb
Education is useless huh? Tell that to Malala Yousafzai you over-privileged wastes of space.
i should have scrolled frther down before making my similar comment upthread.
There are people dying. literally. for an education. Whose lives will be better for the education.
SMH
+1
+2
I guess this is what happens when you have money, Xenu,parents that let you do whatever you want, and no proper school education.
This is what happen when you try to be your kids friend,and not their parents.
The kids aren’t slow but they aren’t so gifted either. They just watched Interstellar like everyone else.
People are making this more CO$ than teen-aged revelation. It’s no new concept that time seems to drag when bored and flies by when fun is being had. We can get interested and slow down or allow life’s distractions to let time fly by. To me that’s all they’re saying but our awareness of their background makes for a different filter.
As for school… can you imagine how utterly irrelevant academics would seem to someone who can buy anything and everything they could ever want right now? We pleebs usually attend school to get ahead. They already have it all so they probably see no value in a traditional education. It’s shallow – but what teen-ager isn’t?
UGH! You don’t control time, you control your PERCEPTION of time. I love Quantum Physics and Spirituality and Buddhism too but I also have a Masters Degree. These kids sound ridiculous. They can’t put a coherent sentence together. I agree their parents are lazy. And it offends me when people talk smack about education when I’ve worked so hard to put myself through college. I had no one helping me and I was the first to graduate (with honors). I’m a non violent person so Buddha help me that I want to smack Will and Jada upside the head.
Anytime I meet a Buddhist with anger I always think about the Simpsons episode that featured Richard Gere: “It’s a good thing Buddhism teaches freedom from desire because I’ve got the desire to kick your ass!”
^^Nice, Ginger! And thanks, Will & Jada for dropping the ball so spectacularly. Coulda been SO different….
Ok this whole family is obviously NUTS, but in all fairness the kids didn’t knock education wholesale, just “normal school”. I think he might have meant “traditional education.” Can’t stand this family and can’t believe I’m defending them, but Jaden does make SOMEWHAT of a point. Normal school doesn’t really prepare children for the realities of life IMHO. It prepares you for certain things, but not everything and definitely not some of the most important things, that it should be preparing young adults for. I also agree that there is something to the fact that you have so many depressed and “teenager-y” children.
I’m NOT advocating that you shouldn’t send your children to school or forgo giving them an education by any means!! I had a very traditional education growing up, but if I had kids of my own I would definitely be open to exploring alternative educational and schooling methods for them.
As for the other stuff these two are going on about – prana energy, reality all being in our mind, states of consciousness, blah, blah, nothing new at all – just concepts been written and said a million times over in New Age books, various spiritual movements etc.
This is an over-simplification, but I feel like my education prepared me for my career, and my parents prepared me for life. These poor kids aren’t winning on either of these counts.
I’m not sure how things are in the US, but private schools are very rare here. The ones that do exist, tend to be alternative schools, like Waldorf or Montessori schools. Kids who go to these schools rarely make it into universities, if the do make it they strugle, they are generally less equipped for life than kids who went to normal schools.
But, as I said above, I think that the public school system in my country is excellent and I’m extremely satisfied with the education I was given.
How is Montessori an alternative system that produces subpar results? In what country?
Here in Canada grads from accredited Montessori schools (which by the way usually transition into the regular curriculum by grade 4) have excellent grades going into high school and better than standard rates of being accepted into prestigious university programs. In fact Montessori is not a different curriculum, just a different pedagogical system. Having had a child go through Montessori kinder and primary, I think it is a brilliant system. We also considered Waldorf but I was not comfortable with some of their theories so chose to go the Montessori route. My son is two grades ahead in math and science, and the biggest point of a Montessori system is educating the whole child (including life skills) as opposed to the public school curriculum which is focused strictly on ABCs.
There is something to be said for the availability of quality public education in the United States, especially in areas that lack the financial resources to provide it. This does not, however, point to education being useless but to their privilege and the reality of financial inequality in America.
Put simply – They had a choice in their education. The majority of us did not.
All I can say is UGH
If no one went to school, how would we have doctors, engineers, dentists, electricians, lawyers, pilots, etc. You have to study these things to know how to do them. I’m sure they use the services of such people but then turn around and say “school is useless”. Ok then. Jaden is trying to be a younger version of Kanye West.
That is exactly who popped into my mind after reading what Jaden said. Oh, HellP another
one!! Delusions of Grandeur!
After I read that first quote from Willow, my eyes tried to escape their sockets in order to prevent me from reading the rest. My brain called me a bitch and a couple of my brain cells died from sympathetic stupidity.
LOL!!! that made me laugh… that’s how I felt too…
Knowing how hard Will and Jada had to work to carve out names, roles, fame and fortune for themselves, it makes me absolutely sick that they haven’t even tried to pass along any of that work ethic to their children. You want to climb mountains, kids? That’s work. You have to work hard at it, be dedicated, learn your craft (whatever it may be), and do even more work. Yes, they have famous parents. Yes, they’ll have money. But that’s still not going to take them as far as they seem to want to go.
Hell, even Kim K and Paris Hilton have to do their version of “work” in order to be who they are.
That’s what I keep saying – discipline! You don’t walk away from high school or college knowing everything you need to know about your career or life in general. Besides the experience and exposure, it’s the discipline that is really learned – making yourself do things you don’t want to (like going to school everyday). Will and Jada are disciplined. Why didn’t they teach this to their kids?
Jennifer
Exactly! It’s not all about conjugating Latin verbs and learning the names of South American capitals….(though I’m glad I did that when I was young enough to absorb mountains of info every day) and yeah….I know the curriculum has changed!
• But school’s also about socialising kids, experiencing life with a variety of others, abd as you say, taking it as read that some things must be done whether or not you dig them: you are not in charge.
• It’s like letting kids have complete control over their diet….of course they’ll opt for dreadful stuff, and that’s why they need to know they are not, yet, the ones with the power. (In the early 70s my boyfriend’s 12yr old sister was allowed to skip school anytime she liked, and to eat nothing…nothing!…but heavily sugared pancakes (crêpes). She didn’t turn out very well at all.
They’re taking actual scientific theory and making it DUMB!
There is a saying that knowing a little about a subject is worse than knowing nothing about the subject – reason being sometimes knowing a little makes you think you know more and all you end up doing is warping the concept by filling the gaps of what you don’t know with guesses and made up sh!t.
Either them or me or both have to be REALLY HIGH for this word salad sci -fi interview to work out.
ahaah QQ! My thought exactly!
They sound so dumb that they make a Kardashian look almost intelligent. At least Kardashian girls only speak about inflated lips, selfies and shelves-like-behinds. I mean.. they are annoying as hell but quite harmless unlike these two and their bending time jackshit.
haha… that thought hasn’t even crossed my mind. But it could actually work.
Lol. Sci fi word salad.
“I’m not making fun of Jaden’s intelligence.”
He has no intellect to make fun of.
Aside from the general stupid-entitley-ness of these two, they seem like by 20-30 they’ll just be 2 washouts – who may never come to realize that accomplishments don’t come from wishing, they come from doing.
“You never learn anything in school. Think about how many car accidents happen every day. Driver’s ed? What’s up? I still haven’t been to driver’s ed because if everybody I know has been in an accident, I can’t see how driver’s ed is really helping them out.”
This was the weirdest part of the interview for me, because his logic makes zero cents. Accidents occur, not because of lack of education, but of a condition called human error, which happens to everyone. It’s ok to make mistakes because we learn through our mistakes. Education is a great system in theory and I understand their frustrations with a formal education system, but there are more positives to it than negatives. I never came out of college or high school thinking that it taught me everything I needed to know, but it created an experience and made me apply myself to subjects that normally I wouldn’t have. These kids sound very sheltered and cult like, which is more of a bad reflection on their parents than them.
Well then the next time he gets on his dad’s private jet, he should make sure the pilot never did any training right? Jaden is lacking in logic and reasoning skills. He’s just plain lost.
He’s bordering close to the Jenny McCarthy school of thought – like immunizations don’t really do any good anyway because there are already outbreaks of Measels…without realizing there are outbreaks because um, yah, some people didn’t get their kids’ immunizations. duhhhhh
We get it, you’re edgy, you’re cool…just please don’t drive an automobile (which I’m sure at some point they will, illegally, I’m certain, because who has time to get a license?), don’t run for political office and don’t try and take a spot at some prestigious university from someone who deserves it because you don’t believe in learnin’ and stuff!
Oh, I’m quite sure no one has to be afraid that those two will ever see a university from the inside – unless they’re filming a music video or movie there. Will and Jada are going to buy them careers in show business as long as possible. One day Willow might even write an actual book – a tell it all story about how she had some rude awakenings when she couldn’t put her feet on the ground in real life.
Wow. Thanks for confirming kids what we already knew. Co$ is all sorts of crazy.
It is. And Jada and Will are stupid to think that they continue denying they are part of this cult.
I don’t understand why they won’t officially confirm their involvement. Unless they have taken the beliefs and run with them on their own, in their own way.
Their parents are CO$.
Can I post links?
This article was super interesting:
http://tonyortega.org/2013/11/18/exclusive-first-interview-with-the-principal-of-will-jada-smiths-shuttered-scientology-school/
Did anyone else get nostalgic for “Cliff Claven” while reading this?
You left out the part where Willow says, that she writes her own novels and rereads them because there aren’t any good novels out there.
What drives me crazy are those sloppy answers theories: “They remember. Babies remember.” -They remember WHAT?
“When they’re in the stomach, they’re so aware…” – Aware of WHAT?
“As they grow up, they start losing.” – again- They’re losing WHAT?
See, that’s what you can actually learn in schools: form a sentence, form an opinion, form a theory and underline that with facts.
And teenagers are teenagery and angsty? What you don’t say! But that has nothing to do with school, it’s called puberty and growing up.
Is that interview meant as sarcasm? It sounds like they’re looking down on every other teenager by sounding like the typical teenage troll. Are they pulling our legs with this interview?
As i said up thread..
Kids who happen to be in the STOMACH are aware to be in the wrong place. They should be in the uterus. 😀
Yes, I’m curious how questions were pose to and answers were obtained from said babies.
And yes, to their sounding like they’re looking down on every other teenager but they don’t realize they sound typical themselves with their self-righteous indignation and supposed higher intellect. They’re just a couple more teens who think they’re smarter than they are. And they are no better than any other teen, probably less so, because they have no discipline and they aren’t exposed to diverse thoughts. They only hear the same rhetoric they’re being taught – no alternate theories. Growing up in a bubble is never a good thing.
“she writes her own novels and rereads them because there aren’t any good novels out there.”
LMFAO!
Wow. She said that? These kiddos crack me up, man.
What a family of losers. Seriously. Good thing they have tons of cash, they’re going to need it.
The terrible thing is that this interview will be used as evidence that there is some kind of “gulf” between people who embrace knowledge and learning and those who are more “spiritual” in nature. These two embrace the worst aspects of the debate – that formal or critical education is useless and you have enough “wisdom” to just live. Please. Plenty of people have figured out how to embrace both knowledge, science, logic and spirituality. The debate is so complex and rich and fascinating, but these two are now going to be poster children for the “deep conflict” between the sides.
Also, just an aside – Is this what Katie Holmes was trying to save Suri from when she divorced Tom Cruise? I presume this is the inevitable result of a Scientologist-style education. If it is, I guess Suri dodged a major bullet.
I’m guessing in about 10 years their ignorance is going to catch up with them. Similar to what happened to Katy Perry. A few months ago, I believe there was an article here on how she said something along the lines about how, as a high school drop out, she sometimes felt inferior when she was around educated crowds, because there were things and skills she missed out on learning, knowing and developing- and now she read as much as she could, trying to play catch-up.
I know a couple of acquaintances this happened to as well. They dropped out of high school, because they “knew everything they needed to know” and they “didn’t have to have a degree to be successful” (true enough, but a diploma at least?) and then about 10 years down the road admit that “street smarts” don’t get people very far.
An education also teaches a level of refinement/polish that isn’t just picked up- a trait these kids don’t have, and probably never will, with no boundaries or expectations/goals set for them by anyone other than themselves (Good luck with those mountains when you’re 30, bro. Way to think long term.) These kids are seriously going to be missing that in a few years. It’s a good thing they have mom and dad’s money to keep them alive, because they’re not learning any skills.
Everyone I have ever known who didn’t finish highschool (my generation, neices’ and nephews’ generations and newer) has an inferiority complex and resents their parents for not putting their foot down and making them go to school when they should have. They will regret their decision and blame their parents.
Going to school also taught me how to cope with people with a different background, how to endure through things I didn’t want to do and also be polite towards teachers, janitors, other students and parents.
Parents are the base for a good education but school reaches where parents can’t go.
“Because living” ? More like: because drugs.
Sound like these kids need to go live with their Aunt and Uncle in Bel Air…
“I think by the time we’re 30 or 20, we’re going to be climbing as many mountains as we can possibly climb.”
I’m thinking that had they actually HAD an education, they would know that 20 actually comes BEFORE 30. Just saying…
Prana is not a quantum physics term. There may be some new age nonsense that claims to be connected to quantum physics that uses the term, but actual quantum physics that they teach in actual physics classes have never used that term to my knowledge and I have studied it to the graduate level.
Thank you! I hate, HATE how complex scientific ideas have been adopted and dumbed down by the New Age crowd: i.e. the law of “attraction” means you can ask the universe to give you a pony; relativity means that “everything is relative, man”. AARRRGH!
The use of scientific theory as “metaphor” in completely inappropriate contexts drives scientists mad.
My personal pet hate is the application of evolutionary theory to completely unrelated social phenomena or economics… it is complete and utter nonsense and Darwin would be turning in his grave.
THANK YOU! Bedhead please read!!!!!!! I can’t imagine how much this association must burn actual quantum physicists. Ugh! Kind of like how astronomers frequently get lumped in with astrologers.
I took a few of my stoner friends to a quantum physics class in college. It was a huge class so we blended into the crowd. Post class they sounded a lot like this. Like they thumbed through a book and understood the sum of it. Throwing around the time is all relative and chemicals and things talk Jaden and Willow are doing. When you have a greater understanding about the subject than that it makes you want to slam your head into a desk. Because exlpaining how wrong they are would be a worse fate.
These kids might wake up down the road and realise what they think they know isn’t much. I hope they have a plan b for their futures.
And LRon H used the same argument as nambla to excuse their criminal acts. Children are actually adults.
Between this and June i’m all stabby.
“These kids might wake up down the road and realise what they think they know isn’t much. I hope they have a plan b for their futures.”
FLORC, as long as their parents keep making money (and have an honest money manager), they’ll never have to support themselves. Then again, if they are Co$, they’ll have to pay millions to stay in. Wonder what will happen when they run out of money?
All I see is a lack of discipline on all levels. These kids are not properly supervised and allowed to act/live like adults. They aren’t made to go to school or from the sound of things, even be home-schooled. If they continue on this path, 10 years from now, they will not be able to articulate their thoughts because their vocabulary is so limited. Going to school does alot more for kids than just getting an education. It exposes kids to other kids they would not be exposed to if give the choice and that is a good thing – actually it’s a great thing. You learn more from people who are NOT like you. You gain perspective. You learn tolerance. You actually grow to like some people you thought you never would. You see disparity. You learn to compromise and you learn tact. Education itself is priceless, but these kids are missing out on so much more.
I don’t get Will and Jada. They both went to school. They both were made to do things they didn’t want to and it made them better people. What the heck are they thinking?
Too bad Uncle Phil passed away, these two need one of his lectures right about now. Aunt Viv where you at ?
Sure education is useless when you are rich and entitled and won’t need to do a day’s work in your life and will live off your parents’ money.
Would love to see what will happen to them in middle age when they run out of money. I guess they can always go back in time and go to school after all.
They throw out words like “quantum physics” to try to sound intelligent, but the gibberish they’re spouting shows they don’t know what the h@ll they’re talking about. Their lack of formal education is really showing.
If mental health is truly a “health” issue, just like physical health, then why are parents allowed to raise their kids like this?
They’re tossing out basic philosophical and scientific theories. I doubt they actually have a solid and factual grasp on what they’re talking about. “The chemicals and things” line is a great example of this. Too much generalizing.
I don’t mean to point fingers, but i’m kind of amazed posters here find this insightful thought for kids their age. Sounds more like regurgitation. They come across as having a limited view of what they talk about and understand only how it’s presented to them within the CoS teachings.
If someone was to make a counter point within the basics they know and not outside knowledge over their heads on the topic, I doubt they’d know what to say back. At all.
I feel bad for them, tbh. They are not aware of how ridiculous everything they say is and they probably never will.
How is Will’s oldest son doing? The one he had with his first wife?
He’s a DJ now. I believe he went to college though.
If I have a theoretical physicist inside my brain, where the hell was she when I was failing theoretical physics in college?
S L O W C L A P for Mr and Mrs (Pinkett) Smith
Well done you two! Don’t usually like to get all judgey on parental matters because some times as hard as parents try, well, their kids turn out to be assholes or criminals or Ted Cruz. But c’mon now! I’m pretty comfortable giving a genuine WTF did they do? or maybe more to the point what did they NOT do?
I can picture them standing in the corner listening to this drivel and going, “Good one babe, yeah you tell them how you feel about stuff. Keep going, you’re doing awesome!!”
What they have done is a great disservice to their kids whom I suspect could actually have been intelligent, thoughtful, even role modely young adults. Though like I said, even great parents have ‘duh’ offspring but at least they were trying. So let’s hear for the Smiths S L O W C L A P
I refuse to believe Will Smith is so stupid.
I do believe though that Jada is the one in charge of taking care of their kid’s education basing my theory on the fact that Will’s older son goes to college. It seems like his first wife is the one in charge of their son’s education.
All I get from this story is that Will is not getting involved in his kids’ education and I find incredible that he came from nothing, worked hard for his fame and wealth but he has not been able to pass that lesson on to his children.
Wealth and fame could go away in a heartbeat and if the kids lose eveything they’ll have to deal with the real world.
And it won’t be pleasant.
I believe Will has forgotten much of that thanks to CO$.
Will and Jada done f—ed their kids UP.
Do you think their lazy parents will be proud or embarrassed by this interview?? Gah!
Well they are teens now. Can we hate them officially now without feeling bad for ‘hating kids”? They are not kinds anymore. Those two selfish rich brats are rich teens now. Also they are idiots.
There have been extensive studies on teenage sleep needs.
From a medical stand point, most teenagers are tired due to hormones and growth. This also goes along with their depression and “angst”.
“The biology of human sleep timing, like that of other mammals, changes as we age. This has been shown in many studies. As puberty begins, bedtimes and waking times get later. This trend continues until 19.5 years in women and 21 in men. Then it reverses. At 55 we wake at about the time we woke prior to puberty. On average this is two hours earlier than adolescents. This means that for a teenager, a 7 am alarm call is the equivalent of a 5 am start for a person in their 50s.
Precisely why this is so is unclear but the shifts correlate with hormonal changes at puberty and the decline in those hormones as we age.” – NewScientist website
I think Will and Jada are doing their children a huge disservice. The bonus for the kids is, they don’t have to succeed at life. If things don’t pan out, they have their parents money to fall back on.
I am ashamed for Will and Jada. They brought these kids into the world, saw that their physical needs were met; food, clothing, shelter. Other than that they’ve apparently ignored those kids altogether. No interaction, no guidance, no teaching of any kind. Jada and Will are like the “dog lover” who adopts a dog and then leaves it chained alone in the back yard.
See the thing that these a-holes don’t consider is that maybe that money won’t always be there. I see this EVERY DAY in my job-people who thought they didn’t need to get a HS degree bc they could drive trucks or whatever. Then something happens to them physically and they can’t do labor based jobs anymore…but since they have no high school diploma they can no longer get jobs that sustain any type of lifestyle even a modest one. So yeah. I wonder what the hell would happen to these kids if the bottom fell out of their parents money.
The interview doesn’t make sense but Willow’s new music is great. I am a fan of Chrisette Michelle and Eryka Badu’s music despite the fact that they sound crazy in their interviews.
You can say that the money will cushion them from their ignorance, but stupid people don’t hang on to money. They get taken advantage of by people who can smell stupidity a mile away. Look at the number of athletes who make millions but end up with nothing; zero education makes them an easy mark and the same will happen eventually to these two.
They sound exactly like all other kids who get their opinions from their parents. Eventually, hopefully, they’ll grow a mind of their own and pick and choose what they believe based on their own actual real life and experiences.
Their parenting style is a far cry from Will’s ‘Just the Two of Us’ song..”.Let me be a good daddy, all he needs. Love, knowledge, discipline too”. There doesn’t appear to be any discipline, or actual useful knowledge. I actually feel bad for these kids.
I don’t disagree with their observations about school. When you don’t have a trust fund, school reminds you daily that you have a lot of hard work and drudgert ahead of you before you have any financial control over your life (and even then..) But it’s easy for celeb kids to wax philosophic on experiences that don’t apply to them.
I found this article an interesting look into the brainwashing that goes on Scientology. Most scientologists you hear from came into the cult as adults and so they know how to hide parts of what they are saying/believe to sound more credible to the masses. These two, because they grew up in Scientology, don’t know anything except the “truth”. And they present it as such. It was objectively very interesting.
I enjoy hearing alternative ways to view life. There is more than one way to live so all of the harsh criticism is a little absurd. Is this not America? Let’s grow up and allow room for alternative opinions.
As a public school teacher, I can only thank the parents for keeping them out of my classroom. Dodged that bullet.
As the children of incredibly rich parents who seem to have bought into the Scientology way of raising children (e.g. giving them total freedom), I’m sorry for them because they’re missing out on and putting down the richness of education. Learning about and enjoying reading Shakespeare; looking through a telescope and studying the miracles of astronomy for the first time; the histories of various cultures, languages and art. Even though they will never know the stress of wondering where their next paycheque is coming from, their arrogance and “know-it-all” psychobabble is just depressing because far from enriching or freeing them, it’s hindering them in their exploration of life and all it has to offer.
What’s next? Go to India, join Ashram, get a Guru to learn how to meditate and elevate off the ground into the air? GO BACK TO SCHOOL, kiddos!!
I hate that stupid face he makes so much!
Delusion thy name is Scientology.
Also, if Jaden wasn’t a minor, I’d want to slap those eyebrows off his head.
Quantum physics is not some fuzzy bullsh*t you can “be into”. It requires a very rigorous mathematical background to properly understand… ie. AN EDUCATION. Incredibly ignorant and over-privileged children. Hot house flowers. Good thing they’ll never have to survive in the real world.
These Jr. idiots aren’t aware or interesting – they’re self-absorbed, uneducated, future burdens on society. Here’s a meme for you: Reality will happen.
Those poor kids – their parents did them no favors by NOT educating them. Compare these two wretches to the Obama girls, who are getting a world class education and the examples set by their parents. Those Smith kids are doomed to D-List TMZ.
My wish for these kids is that they can free themselves from the cult and go about doing what makes them happy without seeing themselves and all the world around them as gods or devils. This is the same wish I have for the Duggar kids and any other child who gets roped into to the divine madness of a cult. Cults demand a child be a whatever the adult tells them to be, so Jaden and Willow have never had the joy and pain of being an individual. Their parents use them as mouthpieces for the cult and that is not fair. These kids deserve the growth their parents are blocking them from. Control and Love are not one and the same.
Oh, Willow- I actually was reading about quantum physics at your age, but I chose books by real physicists and not L. Ron Hubbard. I suggest you do the same. The Feynman Lectures are now all online for free, by the way, a nice general approach to all of physics. You can get a lot of old books for non-scientists by other famous names – that’s what I did, in addition to borrowing from the library. But work on your math skills, that’s the language of physics and you won’t get very far without understanding the language. Just tossing words around doesn’t mean you understand it.
There are plenty of problems with various school systems, but the reality is that the education you get depends on you wherever you are. The teachers can be mediocre but the secret is that everything is interesting and nobody is preventing you from reading on your own. The basic curriculum just provides a handy framework so you can be exposed to far more than if left to your own devices. I have to do a lot of self-learning in my job because (as a scientific translator) I have to sort out so many different details. I wish I had had time to take many more courses in various sciences, because self-learning leaves such gaps; it’s so much easier for me to deal with the areas in which I have the formal training and especially lab experience.
Anything in school can be used for memory exercise. Being forced to work through subjects that are difficult for you is a good thing; children like the Smiths are just going to pick easy things and never have to deal with real criticism of their thinking. So they dabble a bit in education but aren’t really becoming educated. Some rich parents buy their kids ponies, their parents buy them movies to “star” in and a team of engineers to make them sound like singers. This will backfire, because they won’t develop the real talent to keep them going as adults. Dad’s money can only go so far in opening doors for them. Neither seems to have natural talent or the persistence to work to develop it. They are just coasting.
However, the NYT should be ashamed of themselves interviewing these two befuddled children. That’s abusive.
Seriously they have farked up their kids. They don’t sound like they are living in reality, tsound like they have had some mental brainwashing. Poor kids.
Seriously they have farked up their kids. They don’t sound like they are living in reality, tsound like they have had some mental brainwashing. Poor kids.
They want to do anything possible but do not want to get educated? so I guess getting a degree is not important to them? I am 28 years old and I am now studying to get my degree while working. YES it’s hard, YES you don’t always learn from all modules (although I believe it’s up to you to learn anyway) and YES you get tired. OH WAIT that’s how life is. You have to work hard to get what you want. But if you got your daddy’s back and no money issues, sure why would you wanna study? Uneducated fools. I think there’s still time for Willow to come around but this boy Jaden feels like a lost cause to me. Hopefully, when they grow older they will realize this is a mistake and try to learn something valuable.
We should distiguish between “educated” and “intelligent”. Are those kids dumb or smart? I don’t know, because I barely spend any time on them. But they are clearly uneducated, because this is what happens if you don’t get proper education. Full stop.
It’s a pity if you don’t receive proper education due to your parents lack of education. It is a shame when your parent don’t know how valuable education is – that is a true crime you commit to your children.
1. There have never been so many educated people and people have never been as educated as nowadays. Nobody had to learn physics, biology or chemistry in the middle ages. You weren’t even required to be able to read on the level of a primary school pupil. So altogether it has gotten better.
2. For the large majority it is a blessing to attend a regular school. Yep, there are many things to criticise about regular schools but better the regular ones than none or CO$-“education”.
3. Yep, the curriculum at schools is controlled by the government. And people have the right to vote to kick out the government if they see fit. Interestingly, people have never kicked out a government for fuc***ng up education. Also people rarely ask insightful questions about education.
4. Willow and Jaden Smith are the best example for strict regulations that children HAVE to attend a school which is at least somewhat regulated in terms of curriculum.
5. Education is NOT A PRIVATE MATTER. Individuals like the Smiths’ statements make clear that they ain’t got no clues about education but they have the money to publish their views and to pay think tanks and lobbyists to fence for their views. Their immature views about education can be forced upon the majority with money.
Therefore everybody must receive at least a decent minimum standard education.
6. I am not entirely sure about this but isn’t it the case that children in the USA must receive education lessons? I understand that US children can not be forced to attend a school but as far as I know they have the right to be taught or the right and obligation to receive lessons? Doesn’t this apply to the Smiths’ children as well?
Their answers show that they desperately NEED education.
Willow’s mustache is more magnificent than her brother’s
Those are strange looking children.
Why judge the words of 14 and 16 year kids? Imagine someone documenting and nitpicking everything you said at age. This article is really sad.
These kids did purposefully go public with their statements. I think it is fair to criticise purposefully published statements. And for the most the criticism is fair.
I read an article where a philosopher went back and talked about much of what they said. He actually said a lot of what they’re saying is spot on and it was backed up. There are many other parts that I side eyed but their thoughts on school (not education) wasn’t one. Not completely anyway. I’m not a fan of our school system one bit from its regular testing to the lack of actual information being taught. There was a recent article on a teacher who shadowed two high school students and found that students are tired and worn out from being talked at rather than interacting and moving around. I have a cousin who got in trouble because she was talking to a friend in the hallway. Not during class and not loudly. There are countless examples of children being taught to test and graduating yet not being able to read at their grade level. Even about the best ones graduating and not picking up a book again. When I compare these two with other 14 and 16 year olds, I’d much rather Prana breaths and alternative schooling.
I remember when a Philosophy of Science course was being taught at the college where I myself taught in the physics dept. The physicist part of the team was fine, although as a theorist he didn’t quite get the nitty gritty of the experimentalist’s daily life. The philosopher part was still in the 18th century as far as his understanding of modern science was concerned. He knew some words but didn’t have the background to understand the complexities or the whole picture. So I can imagine that a philosopher would be impressed by the Smith children’s babbling. That doesn’t make it science.
It’s really hard to convince people that just knowing a bunch of science-y words doesn’t mean you understand anything. Real scientists never claim to understand it all, we know how much we don’t know or understand collectively or individually. I’ve been a scientist for decades and still am learning new things every day and still have to really focus to make sense out of it in any language. Since guys in my youth couldn’t imagine they were looking at a scientist in training (not having a beard and all), I was often treated to the same kind of pompous babble from them about the universe as the Smith kids present. Like Edith Bunker, I just stifled myself and marveled at their ability to go on and on and on for hours saying absolutely nothing. I occasionally would correct one of their especially ridiculous statements about physics or chemistry, but that never even slowed them down. They had no idea what I was saying and so just ignored me and kept rambling.
@ jwoolman
You wrote a good comment.
Also I think the Smiths’ children start talking about physics and then turn that into some kind of spiritual advice à la “We can control time.” and that is plain bullshit. You can’t simply transform physics into spiritual / esoteric.
Additionally, yes. philosophers talk about anything whether they understand it or not 😉 At least that was my impression when I attended university.
I have a feeling these kids are dumb as spit.
While I dont think the current schooling system is great (there is a lot pressure put on the students to get A’s – too much homework for realistically how many hours are spent at home – especially when you add in the fact that children are also expected to have other extracurricular activities.) There are lots of kids out there, stressed and depressed and I think that is something that could be improved on. But of course its kind of stupid to think that education isn’t important.