Quote
Nichijew
Fifty Cents is a better poet than Ikeda. I like Thug Love far better than To My Young American Friends.

Well, maybe some day there will be a monument with Ikeda and Fifty Cent. Sadly, Ikeda is doing no better at running a charter school than he's done at being a poet. SGI's Spirit of Knowledge Academy in Worcester, Massachusetts, has had a very rocky first year. Oh, silly me! The Spirit of Knowledge Academy says it's NOT affiliated with SGI in any way, despite its charter application's statement that the Spirit of Knowledge's educational philosophy is based on the philosophy of Josei Toda and Tsunesaburo Makiguchi. Yeah, right. Nothing to do with SGI. And if you believe that, I've got a bridge to sell you.

[www.telegram.com]

-----------------------------Beginning of Quote---------------------------------------------------------------------
Friday, June 17, 2011

Clive McFarlane
cmcfarlane@telegram.com


On paper, the Spirit of Knowledge Charter School, whose mission is to “create value in the lives of students and others through high-standards academic learning,” seems to represent great promise for the present and future of public education.

The school’s board of trustees is ethnically diverse, with white, black, Latino and Asian members.

The board is also professionally diverse, with members boasting experience as educators, engineers, businessmen and lawyers.

But as we have seen before with the state’s controversial charter school law, what is put on paper is not always what is put in practice.

And according to some parents, students and staff members, Spirit of Knowledge, at 10 Irving St., is not living up to its charter.

Parents have accused the school of abandoning its commitment to educate all students. Criticism of the school was aired Wednesday night at a board of trustees meeting, and at two previous board meetings.

Individual Education Plans, which are meant for children with learning disabilities and special needs, are not being followed, according to parents.

In addition, parents have accused administrators of allowing staff members to verbally abuse or demean students.

One parent, whose daughter has since left the school, complained that her child was bullied by a teacher, who told her she “wouldn’t amount to nothing.”

Another parent, whose child is also leaving the school, told the board Wednesday night that her daughter was told by a teacher that she wouldn’t succeed because she didn’t have a backbone.

Parents also level allegations of sexual harassment incidents that were not investigated, of the school using a teaching consultant who had alleged sexual-harassment issues at another school, and of another consultant who taught a class while inebriated.

The storm of allegations led to the resignation of the school’s founder and executive director, Julia Sigalovsky.

Antonio de la Serna, a trustee who was very critical of Ms. Sigalovsky, also resigned.

“I could no longer lend my credibility to the school,” Mr. de la Serna said, while noting that 49 of the 156 students who started the school year are no longer there. Richard Langevin, chairman of the school’s board of trustees, told the newspaper recently that the total loss of students over the year has been about 30.

“There are individual children that have been adversely impacted by what has happened, and as the information began coming in, I was overwhelmed,” he said. “It was like a building on fire, and the inertia in responding was troubling.”

According to Mr. de la Serna, the school was witnessing a “mutiny” to administrative leadership.

Of the 13 staff members surveyed, 11 said they would not return if Ms Sigalovsky was kept on the staff, he said.

Ms. Sigalovsky said, however, that the parents’ allegations were predicated on misinformation, and that her decision to abruptly resign last Friday was due to the “extreme pressure” she experienced from Mr. de la Serna.

“Problems were turned into war, and miscommunication into hysteria,” she said, adding that in emails to the staff Mr. de la Serna “sabotaged” her efforts to reorganize her administration.

Ms. Sigalovsky had asked the board to revoke her resignation, following the departure of Mr. de la Serna, but the board declined, opting to replace her on an interim basis with board member Eileen Milton, an attorney and a member of the Massachusetts Justice Project.

Ms. Milton worked collaboratively with Ms. Sigalovsky on the Spirit of Knowledge charter application, as well as the application for the Advanced Math and Science Academy Charter School in Marlboro, which was also founded by Ms. Sigalovsky.

In 2009, the AMSA’s board of directors voted not to renew her contract based on performance issues.

On Wednesday night, Ms. Milton reaffirmed her belief that the school’s educational philosophy is sound and attainable.

However, she acknowledged, the school’s educational philosophy “wasn’t being experienced by some kids.”

I hope Ms. Milton is able to turn things around at the school. I found her and the rest of the trustees to be well meaning. It was also heartening to see so many parents involved with and passionate about their children’s education.

But I can’t get over the feeling that in its first year, the school played Russian roulette with some kids’ educations, and I am not convinced next year will be any better.
---------------------------------------End of Quote-----------------------------------------------------------

One former Young Women's Division member, earlier in this thread, posted about the abuse she experienced in YWD -- doing activities and drills out in the hot sun for hours, without breaks for food or water, and being verbally abused by her leader for fainting. Sounds like that was the philosophy of this charter school also -- and if you pay taxes in Massachusetts, YOUR money funded this so-called education.

Quote
tsukimoto

Quote
Nichijew
Fifty Cents is a better poet than Ikeda. I like Thug Love far better than To My Young American Friends.

Well, maybe some day there will be a monument with Ikeda and Fifty Cent. Sadly, Ikeda is doing no better at running a charter school than he's done at being a poet. SGI's Spirit of Knowledge Academy in Worcester, Massachusetts, has had a very rocky first year. Oh, silly me! The Spirit of Knowledge Academy says it's NOT affiliated with SGI in any way, despite its charter application's statement that the Spirit of Knowledge's educational philosophy is based on the philosophy of Josei Toda and Tsunesaburo Makiguchi. Yeah, right. Nothing to do with SGI. And if you believe that, I've got a bridge to sell you.

[www.telegram.com]

-----------------------------Beginning of Quote---------------------------------------------------------------------
Friday, June 17, 2011

Clive McFarlane
cmcfarlane@telegram.com


On paper, the Spirit of Knowledge Charter School, whose mission is to “create value in the lives of students and others through high-standards academic learning,” seems to represent great promise for the present and future of public education.

The school’s board of trustees is ethnically diverse, with white, black, Latino and Asian members.

The board is also professionally diverse, with members boasting experience as educators, engineers, businessmen and lawyers.

But as we have seen before with the state’s controversial charter school law, what is put on paper is not always what is put in practice.

And according to some parents, students and staff members, Spirit of Knowledge, at 10 Irving St., is not living up to its charter.

Parents have accused the school of abandoning its commitment to educate all students. Criticism of the school was aired Wednesday night at a board of trustees meeting, and at two previous board meetings.

Individual Education Plans, which are meant for children with learning disabilities and special needs, are not being followed, according to parents.

In addition, parents have accused administrators of allowing staff members to verbally abuse or demean students.

One parent, whose daughter has since left the school, complained that her child was bullied by a teacher, who told her she “wouldn’t amount to nothing.”

Another parent, whose child is also leaving the school, told the board Wednesday night that her daughter was told by a teacher that she wouldn’t succeed because she didn’t have a backbone.

Parents also level allegations of sexual harassment incidents that were not investigated, of the school using a teaching consultant who had alleged sexual-harassment issues at another school, and of another consultant who taught a class while inebriated.

The storm of allegations led to the resignation of the school’s founder and executive director, Julia Sigalovsky.

Antonio de la Serna, a trustee who was very critical of Ms. Sigalovsky, also resigned.

“I could no longer lend my credibility to the school,” Mr. de la Serna said, while noting that 49 of the 156 students who started the school year are no longer there. Richard Langevin, chairman of the school’s board of trustees, told the newspaper recently that the total loss of students over the year has been about 30.

“There are individual children that have been adversely impacted by what has happened, and as the information began coming in, I was overwhelmed,” he said. “It was like a building on fire, and the inertia in responding was troubling.”

According to Mr. de la Serna, the school was witnessing a “mutiny” to administrative leadership.

Of the 13 staff members surveyed, 11 said they would not return if Ms Sigalovsky was kept on the staff, he said.

Ms. Sigalovsky said, however, that the parents’ allegations were predicated on misinformation, and that her decision to abruptly resign last Friday was due to the “extreme pressure” she experienced from Mr. de la Serna.

“Problems were turned into war, and miscommunication into hysteria,” she said, adding that in emails to the staff Mr. de la Serna “sabotaged” her efforts to reorganize her administration.

Ms. Sigalovsky had asked the board to revoke her resignation, following the departure of Mr. de la Serna, but the board declined, opting to replace her on an interim basis with board member Eileen Milton, an attorney and a member of the Massachusetts Justice Project.

Ms. Milton worked collaboratively with Ms. Sigalovsky on the Spirit of Knowledge charter application, as well as the application for the Advanced Math and Science Academy Charter School in Marlboro, which was also founded by Ms. Sigalovsky.

In 2009, the AMSA’s board of directors voted not to renew her contract based on performance issues.

On Wednesday night, Ms. Milton reaffirmed her belief that the school’s educational philosophy is sound and attainable.

However, she acknowledged, the school’s educational philosophy “wasn’t being experienced by some kids.”

I hope Ms. Milton is able to turn things around at the school. I found her and the rest of the trustees to be well meaning. It was also heartening to see so many parents involved with and passionate about their children’s education.

But I can’t get over the feeling that in its first year, the school played Russian roulette with some kids’ educations, and I am not convinced next year will be any better.
---------------------------------------End of Quote-----------------------------------------------------------

One former Young Women's Division member, earlier in this thread, posted about the abuse she experienced in YWD -- doing activities and drills out in the hot sun for hours, without breaks for food or water, and being verbally abused by her leader for fainting. Sounds like that was the philosophy of this charter school also -- and if you pay taxes in Massachusetts, YOUR money funded this so-called education.

SGI is always boasting about actual proof. Now they have some... at the expense of the children of Massachusetts.

Nichijew



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/11/2011 01:22PM by Nichijew.

Great posts from Simplify, Tsukimoto, Nichijew, rattyboy....

For me, the knee-jerk, gut reactions started last year with the Human Revolution, before I knew about this forum. The way Shinichi Yamamoto was presented, like what has been expressed here, as an All-Knowing Omni-Man always at the top of his game, and everyone else well, not quite. Knee-jerk reaction? Umm, this is really smacking of Narcisstic Personality Something. And massaging into members' minds his omnipotent compassionate genius. Please. He's a human, like we all. It nagged at me and I couldn't cast this aside. I thought, doesn't anybody else get this?

This is totally not what chanting NMRK has given me over the many years. It also goes against, irony of ironies, P.I.'s guidances, a number of them, anyway.

Yes, Nichijew, I can see the subtle authoritism better.

As for the passage from My Young American Friends....pretty chilling. Us Against Them. There goes that Fire and Brimstone again. Fear-inducement.

I ask again...how is this gonna light fire among vast multitudes of people around the world? Why does SGI think that?

Shavoy - I agree, especially with the irony of ironies part. I might be going out on a limb here, but at least I don't feel I have to adopt a prescribed personality on this forum:
How many times did we have to hear some guest leader at a local meeting tell us how they started with the group and how their friends and family thought they had "joined a cult". It sounds like a risky thing for them to say, but it is a neurolinguistic technique that allows the listener to relate to the experience and the discomfort about the possible cult question they might have had also, but to only partially process this in the "safe" environment of being talked at by some allegedly wise leader. The leader's story moves on, then there is the happy result. Any doubt is erased. Maybe people on the forum didn't experience this, I don't know.
I think, in the same way, if you surround these "poems" and declarations with pomp and circumstance in small and large groups, then -Whammo- ... the cognitive dissonance is taken in en masse. (in the spirit of many in body, one in mind?)
The thoughts of your friends and family are an easier 'straw man' to knock over than the depths of the experiencer's mind. That cult challenge early in your practice (IF it happens) occurs at the same time you are beginning to explore this brave new experiment. The braveness obviously wins out, because there you are, still showing up, but then the warning signs are too persistent, if you're lucky and if you are willing to hold onto critical thought.
I welcome any critique of my NLP claims. (neuro-linguistic programming)

wished some journalist would take notice ... the poem scam is one thing what about the new hall erected at soka university in california? allways good to know where the money goes :-)

@tsukimoto who wrote, "The following is from SGI's website: www.sgi.org:
In May, 2006, a monument dedicated to world poet laureates was dedicated at SGI's Korea-Japan Friendship Training Center on Jeju Island, South Korea. The monument honored Ikeda, as well as Indian poet Rabindranath Tagore, Italian poet Francesco Petrarca and British poet William Wordsworth." After having read this and the previous posts about the scam of Ikeda as a "World Poet Laureate" I now declare that I am ashamed of my time, 21 years, with SGI. The crass narcissism, the vanity, the lack of Buddhist principles--apparently SGI UK has been duped and is promoting Ikeda and the organization indirectly--I cannot believe what I have read. As an educated individual I now see how wrong I was. That I actively tried to introduce people to this bastardization of Buddhism revolts me. True, I find the actual devotional practice unparalleled by others. However, I actively promoted membership in an organization that I will not claim any longer. Why the f* does Ikeda need special recognition? What does that have to do with Nichiren Buddhism? I used to think that simply because the typical members are generally nice people that I could look the other way about the organization's glaring deficiencies. Now that is impossible.

Doubtful, I'm right there with you. I cannot believe how blind I was to the whole Ikeda personality cult thing, although I suppose that is how cults survive, by successfully deceiving and manipulating their members.

I like Nichijew's comment about conmen and marks. I feel such a fool, I was definitely a mark. But then again I tried to shakubuku (with the best of intentions), so I was also a conman. And I'm very ashamed of that.

The trouble is, as I was in SGI for so long many of my friends and acquaintances are still with SGI. specifically all the journalists I know. So how does the world get to know about the Supreme conman and his pretensions as poet laureate and his lies about being awarded an honour from the Bodleian library, Oxford University?

And wow, that monument to narcissism in South Korea that Tsukimoto pointed out! Petrarch, Tagore, Wordsworth and ........Ikeda. Is there no limit to the megalomania? (duh, what was I thinking, of course not).

Surely there must be some educated people out there with access to the media who can get this story out? Or does the power and wrath of the SGI publicity and legal machine come down on anyone who tries to show the truth?

Quote
Rattyboy

"How many times did we have to hear some guest leader at a local meeting tell us how they started with the group and how their friends and family thought they had "joined a cult". It sounds like a risky thing for them to say, but it is a neurolinguistic technique that allows the listener to relate to the experience and the discomfort about the possible cult question they might have had also, but to only partially process this in the "safe" environment of being talked at by some allegedly wise leader. The leader's story moves on, then there is the happy result. Any doubt is erased. Maybe people on the forum didn't experience this, I don't know."


Rattyboy, I definitely experienced this. At a big all leaders meeting I remember one of our national leaders giving an experience and mentioning that her boyfriend didn't practice, but that was good because he kept 'cult watch' for her. I suppose my subconscious reaction was that if a national leader was aware of this and checking out that her actions weren't culty, that everything was OK.

I am absolutely convinced that SGI is using modern mind influencing and control techniques, no doubt including neurolinguistic programming, but also possibly subliminal suggestion in its videos. I think that was why they introduced the prayer to the three presidents in gongyo, if you think something often enough and keep on thinking it, it will become and automatic part of your thinking. Especially when one is in a susceptible state of mind, as one can be after chanting.

If you haven't heard of him, check out a guy called Derren Brown. He is a showman and entertainer, but is expert on influencing crowds of people (among other things). If you read his books he explains some of the techniques used - it is all mind control tricks that anyone can study and learn, there is nothing "mystical" about his shows at all. Here is a link that shows how quickly you can influence a mall full of strangers if you know the right techniques: Derren Brown controls a shopping mall . By the way ignore the rude comments below the video - I have seen Derren Brown live many times and his tricks are extraordinary, but they are not 'faked' - he doesn't need to fake stuff. He admits he uses mixtures of suggestion, psychology and misdirection to achieve his tricks.

I have little doubt that SGI employs people to investigate and implement all sorts of techniques (suggestion, psychology and misdirection?) to 'subtly' influence its members.



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 09/16/2011 06:20PM by simplify.

It seems to me that it's one of the oldest saws in the world and speaks for the ol' human element of greed, ego, power and control. What this practice gave me was awareness of this and how to recognize it in myself and rise above it, if you will, for greater good. That will not leave me. And this was influenced by P.I. guidances, like I said in the earlier post! If the top man is governed by the lower worlds and being a "star", well, that's his bit, for not walking his walk. Unfortunately, it affects thousands of people, who want certainty and the dangling carrot of happiness for eternity. I have been reading Janet Reitman's Inside Scientology, and the parellels are right there. As Simplify noted, if you keep thinking something long enough and keep thinking it, it becomes an automatic part of thinking.

I have said it before, but what has happened with the WT over the last 20 years speaks volumes. Now it is all about constantly massaging the message that P.I. is the Only One. Members now have to attribute their victories to their Mentor in Life. Their only mentor. The only one that seems to matter. Back in the day, I was, and still am, encouraged by members who didn't automatically aspire to "know their mentor's heart", "live their mentor's vow"...in the experiences. How can you know someone's heart???

President Ikeda loves his power. It goes against what this practice, or how I interpreted the practice, has taught me. Who cares how many accomodations and honoraries he has "received'? This also, is repeated over and over and over. Massaging into the minds his glory. I hear Adam Sandler in one of his routines, going "Whooop-de-Doooooo"........

It is all for the Glorification and Worship of Daisaku Ikeda. Another old-saw, human situation.

If there was Kosen-rufu on a massive SGI scale, there would be no democracy. How could there be?

thanks to rattyboy and simplify and everyone here for such great insight.

In addition to the "joined a cult" experience that a leader shared during a contribution campaign time, the leader was talking about the members' contributions going to pay the leaders' salaries. "and believe me, they need it!" the leader said. I immediately thought 2 things (besides rage): I had heard about or read that "Believe me" is an obvious but effective command. I figured "they need it" was a way of suggesting just compensation for untold great hours of work for Kosen Rufu and World Peace rather than directly stating SGI does not have the money. If I had not already been critical and on my guard, believe me, I would've been getting all misty eyed for those leaders who would be doing all that work and not getting paid enough.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/17/2011 04:09AM by rattyboy.