'New Age Spirituality for Kids' class draws fire
Pastor Dale Morgan
*'New Age Spirituality for Kids' class draws fire*
The program, created by a leader of the L.A.-based Kabbalah Centre
International, is promoted as a way to teach children how to make wise
choices. Critics say it brings religion into public schools.
By Seema Mehta
April 14, 2009
In a light-filled classroom in Sherman Oaks, gregarious teacher Jenna
Zucker dons a straw hat and, in an exaggerated Southern drawl, invites
the gathered first- and second-graders to an imaginary picnic.
The children, taking part in an after-school program at Kester Avenue
Elementary, must tell Zucker what they plan to bring; she will then
decide if they can join her. Alex wants to bring apples; he gets the
nod. But Athena and her offer of brownies are turned down, as are
Samantha and her macaroni and cheese. Elijah suggests eels and Matthew
melons; both are accepted. The students soon realize they must bring
something that starts with the first letter of their name.
Zucker, 28, tells them that once they figured out the rules of the game,
the reward was "greater satisfaction."
"What does greater satisfaction bring?" she asks. Matthew replies:
"Spiritual power!"
Zucker asks him where the power comes from? "Your inner light," the boy
answers.
And where is that light found? "In your heart," he says.
The exchange is part of "Spirituality for Kids," a class offered in
several Los Angeles public elementary schools during the day or after
school. Created by a leader of the Los Angeles-based Kabbalah Centre
International, a spiritual and educational organization, the program is
promoted as a nondenominational effort to teach children to make wise
choices.
But it is drawing fire from parents and others who say it is illegally
bringing religion into public schools under the guise of ethics training.
"I think it breaches the separation between church and state," said
Margie Mulder, a guidance counselor at Utah Street and Noble Avenue
elementary schools. "I wouldn't send my children to the group."
But others say it provides children with essential skills.
" 'Spirituality for Kids' is not religious," said Karen Timko, who is in
charge of elementary counselors for the Los Angeles Unified School
District and has included the group in a resource fair for counselors.
"It's tools for navigating your life."
Timko noted that school programs run by better-known faith-linked
organizations, such as the YMCA, have not met with similar controversy.
The spirituality program was created in 2001 by Karen Berg, who leads
the Los Angeles kabbalah center with her husband, Rabbi Philip Berg.
Kabbalah is an ancient form of Jewish mysticism, but critics of the Berg
center say it departs from many traditional practices.
The center's website says it offers a nonreligious "way of creating a
better life," and that if students work to become more sharing, caring
and tolerant, they will experience previously unknown fulfillment. The
center has a deep roster of celebrity adherents, including Madonna and
Ashton Kutcher.
The program is offered in schools and community centers around the
globe, from New York and Florida to Mexico and Malawi. Since 2006,
nearly 4,400 Los Angeles children have taken part. Its use in London
schools has generated controversy.
The Spirituality for Kids Foundation, which runs the program, listed
nearly $18 million in assets on IRS disclosure forms for 2007, the most
recent available. Celebrity kabbalah devotees, including Madonna, are
among its funders.
Public school students cannot legally be subject to proselytizing,
although religious groups are allowed to sponsor school programming as
long as it does not favor one faith. But programs linked to groups
outside the mainstream often come under scrutiny. Others that have drawn
fire include "study technology," a learning method created by Church of
Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard, and Transcendental Meditation
offered by the David Lynch Foundation.
This year, Spirituality for Kids has been offered at nine local
elementary schools and three community sites. Children are taught that
their actions cause reactions, and to allow their inner "light" to shine
by overcoming an internal "opponent" who urges them to make bad decisions.
The word "kabbalah" was not mentioned in the Kester class, but its
presence seemed unmistakable. Zucker and a facilitator wore red knotted
strings -- frequently used by kabbalah practitioners to ward off the
evil eye -- around their left wrists. They also used terms -- such as
"light" and "the opponent" -- that are found throughout the L.A.
center's website and its IRS filings.
Officials with the spirituality program say such words are common to
many faiths.
" 'Inner light' is a universal term," spokeswoman Esther Weinberg wrote
in an e-mailed response to questions. "If you look it up, you'll see it
is used by Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Buddhism, Oprah, Eckhart Tolle,
Deepak Chopra, many yoga practitioners, and it actually originated with
the Quakers."
Karen Berg said she doesn't use the term "inner light" in her teachings,
but said it may be used at the kabbalah center.
"There are clearly some similarities between the vernacular we of the
Kabbalah Centre use and SFK," she wrote in an e-mail. "That is because
both organizations strive for simple, universal language that makes
sense to everyone, including children."
At Beachy Avenue Elementary, Principal Alan Lewis said the program's
easy-to-grasp message is one reason he supports it. He said he saw
improvements in children's behavior after it was used there last year.
Principal Priscilla Currie of 109th Street Elementary agreed. "When they
come into the office, we talk about the good guy and the opponent," she
said. When "they make the wrong choice, they [say], 'I should have
listened to the good guy.' "
A 2008 Rand Corp. study funded by $80,000 from the spirituality program
found that it improved children's social and study skills, leadership
and communications, and helped with behavioral problems.
But others are skeptical, including Orthodox Rabbi Yitzchok Adlerstein,
an adjunct chair in Jewish law and ethics at Loyola Law School, who
doesn't believe the program belongs in public schools. He said that as
the nation has grown more diverse and religion has been removed from the
public square, there is a yearning for moral teaching. But he said the
program's founders offer more hype than substance.
"Whenever there is a hunger, there is a danger that hucksters will feed
the hunger with phony food," he said.
The program was discontinued at Stoner Avenue Elementary in Culver City.
When asked why, Principal Pamela Williams said the school lacked
funding. Reminded that the class was free, she declined to comment
further and hung up.
When officials at Wonderland Avenue Elementary tried to expand the class
into its magnet program this year, some parents were incensed.
"I think they're trying to spread [kabbalah] without using the word,"
said Carolyn McKnight, whose daughter is in fifth grade at the school.
Another mother, who asked that her name not be used because she works in
Hollywood and fears repercussions and because her daughter remains at
Wonderland, said she met with school and Spirituality for Kids
officials. It did not assuage her doubts.
"It was really teaching a belief system as opposed to teaching
situational ethics or ethics in general," she said. "It was a way of
approaching life, which I just didn't feel was appropriate for a public
school."
Donald Wilson, who said the program was approved before he became
Wonderland's principal last year, was concerned about it but changed his
mind after he read the curriculum and sat in on the class. Wilson said
he saw no evidence the program was religious and found it pedagogically
sound. "They are more than sound, they're engaging," he said. "The
lessons are lessons that parents want their kids to have."
Wilson and other principals said they allowed the program only after
notifying and meeting with parents. Still, some Wonderland parents --
including several conservative Christians -- remained opposed, so Wilson
did not expand the program to their children's classrooms. He plans to
have district staff review it before allowing it next year.
Meanwhile, at Kester Avenue Elementary, Zucker was marking the final
session of the 10-week program. She presented each student with a
certificate marking completion of Level One, "The Game of Life," and
handed out cookies and red lollipops imprinted with "SFK."
As the children streamed out of the room, Zucker handed each a card with
the suggested spiritual exercise for the week: "Find a friend with whom
you would like to share the Rules of the Game of Life. Invite them to SFK."