Kevin Spacey has kept a relatively low profile in the last few years, choosing to focus on theater instead of movies. Since 2003 he has been the artistic director of London’s Old Vic Theatre, after directing its opening production of Cloaca. Since then Spacey – born in New Jersey – has spent most of his time in London. It seems that he’s been very much accepted by the Brits, as the University of Oxford just named Spacey its Cameron Mackintosh Visiting Professor of Contemporary Theater.

Spacey will succeed Shakespearean actor and “Star Trek: The Next Generation” star Patrick Stewart when the new academic year starts in October. Previous holders of the post, endowed by theater impresario Mackintosh, include composer Stephen Sondheim, playwright Alan Ayckbourn and actress Diana Rigg.

In a statement, Spacey said he was delighted to be appointed to the one-year post, which requires him to give lectures, workshops and seminars at the 800-year-old university.

“It really is an honor for me to have been invited to follow such illustrious names and take up this role at Oxford,” Spacey said. “The university is steeped in tradition and has a great heritage in the arts, and I look forward to working with the students and staff.”

The college’s master, Roger Ainsworth, said Spacey was “a truly international star and will bring an enormous wealth of talent and experience in both film and theater to bear on the role. He will be a huge draw for the student population of Oxford and to the wider public, too,” Ainsworth said.

[From the Huffington Post]

Talk about taking your craft seriously. As prestigious as it is to win an Academy Award (Spacey’s won two), being asked to teach at Oxford is even more of an honor. Though I don’t think it comes with anything shiny that you can stick on your mantel. What an awesome tribute to Spacey’s skills, and an exciting way for his students to spend the next year.

Here are Kevin Spacey and Benicio Del Toro at the Raisa Gorbachev Foundation Third Annual Gala Dinner at Hampton Court Palace in London, England on June 7th. Images thanks to WENN.

Paul McCartney’s life gets better every day. First he got Heather Mills officially out of his life. Now the former Beatle has been awarded an honorary Doctor of Music degree from Yale. It’s really challenging to say which one of those things is a greater accomplishment. But I’m guessing as far as the day-to-day goes, not having to look at Heather Mills’ gaping maw probably brings Paul the most pleasure.

Paul McCartney can now add one more honor to the numerous awards, accolades and the knighthood he has already received. The ex-Beatle on Monday was awarded an honorary Doctor of Music degree from Yale University.

In granting the honorary degree to McCartney — Sir Paul McCartney since he was knighted in 1996 — the university said no one compares with the legendary songwriter.

Yale said the 65-year-old McCartney awakened a generation, giving a fresh sound to rock, roll, rhythm and blues.

[From the Associated Press]

More than 1000 students cheered for McCartney when he was awarded his degree. He looks pretty darn adorable – and quite pleased – in the photos from the event. If anyone deserves such a degree, it’s Sir Paul McCartney, PhD. That’s a lot of letters. Congratulations to him.

Images thanks to Splash.

Yesterday we ran a story about Will Smith’s new private school, New Village Academy, based on a piece that appeared in the National Enquirer that tied Smith to the school. Smith is not mentioned on the school’s website, but he told Regis & Kelly last year that he was starting a school, and the school’s director is Smith’s former personal assistant and is “Director of Philanthropy and Vice President of the Smith Holdings Group.”

After a superficial reading of the school’s website I said it sounded like a decent school. My conclusion was similar to saying Scientology is ok after reading three chapters of Dianetics. I didn’t dig deep enough, or have enough knowledge of Scientology schools, to make an analysis. Several commenters pointed out that Smith’s school uses the same materials as Scientology schools, mentions L. Ron Hubbards “Study Tech,” by name, and even employs teachers who are known Scientologists. The language on Smith’s school’s website is also loaded with words and concepts specific to Scientology, and the mission is straight out of the Scientology handbook.

The class materials are the same ones created by Scientology and used in Scientology schools
The Delphi Schools are Scientology-schools run for children of Scientologists, and for outside children with the purpose of converting their families to the cult. According to Wikipedia, Delphi Schools use their own Heron Basics language program along with Hubbard’s “tech.”

Smith’s school uses Scientology founder L Ron Hubbard’s “tech,” and the Heron Basics language program. Hubbard’s tech is mentioned specifically in their Glossary section, and the Curriculum overview states that they use Heron Basics.

Five out of seventeen teachers are easily identified as Scientologists
Director of Learning: Tasia Jones
Education Enrichment Program Supervisor: Andrea Beckham
Director of Qualifications: Sigrid Burgett
Artistic director: Sisu Raiken
Teacher: Marcia Perkins
Teacher: James Oliver

Unique words, phrases and concepts of L. Ron Hubbard’s “Tech” are found on the school’s website
Although there more mainstream, proven and accepted educational methods mentioned on Smith’s school’s “Glossary” section, such as Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences and the Montessori Method, the methods outlined on the site are straight from L. Ron Hubbard’s “Study Tech” and show only a superficial influence from other educational philosophies. They are the same concepts described on Studytech.org, a critical site created by Scientology expert Professor David S. Touretzky of Carnegie Mellon University. Dr. Touretzky corresponded with us and helped find additional ties to Scientology in Smith’s school.

Smith’s Educational Philosophy: sequential learning with the example of building a robot, mentions being “out” of the sequential process:

Secondly, teachers are taught to teach sequentially, checking for prior understanding. When a student is required to perform a sequence of steps and he comes to a point where he doesn’t understand, the learning curve is too steep. If a teacher is showing a student how to make the robot and the student suddenly is confused, the teacher makes sure to go back to the place the student stopped understanding and re-teach that point. We teach older students to do this on their own – when studying they learn to recognize in themselves when they are “checking out”; they then learn to go back with no prompting to restudy their prior steps and the concepts they may not have grasped the first time around.

[From Newvillageacademy.org, emphasis added]

L Ron Hubbard’s Study Tech: gradient learning with the example of building a doghouse, mentions being “out” of the gradient.

An example from the critical site, Studytech.org:

There is nothing objectionable in the notion that complex ideas should be mastered by breaking them down into simpler steps done in a logical order. But Study Tech turns this sensible advice into rigid dogma, with a warning that violations can have unpleasant consequences. “If you have skipped a gradient you may feel a sort of confusion or reeling” (Learning How to Learn, p. 84.) The illustrations of this idea on pp. 84-85 show a boy who was trying to build a doghouse “seeing stars” as if he just got whacked in the head with one of the boards he was hammering…

Being “out-gradient” is actually considered an ethical violation in Scientology, because it is “out-tech“, or contrary to Hubbard’s teachings about how one should study.

[From Studytech.org, emphasis added]

Smith’s school: word definitions as the key to knowledge

NVA teachers make sure children understand the meanings of all of the words related to each lesson whether in math or in music, or as in the robot example – all of the words related to making the robot. What do the words, electro-mechanic, gears, and system mean? Often students (and adults as well) lose interest and stop paying attention when they get lost in explanations filled with words they do not understand. So many students think they are terrible in math; has the teacher ever defined words such as factor, geometry or exponent? Teachers therefore are trained to make sure they monitor the children for lack of understanding. Similarly, if the student is learning how to program the robot and comes across a word that he is unfamiliar with, the student must look it up in the dictionary or have the word explained by a teacher. Once the student understands the words related to a concept, there is greater understanding of the entire subject.

[From Newvillageacademy.org]

L. Ron Hubbard’s Tech: word definitions as the key to knowledge

The third principle of Study Tech centers on the concept of misunderstood words. They’re called “misunderstoods” in the books, and abbreviated as M/U or Mis-U in Scientology. Misunderstoods can be “cleared” by looking up the word in a dictionary. This is fine as far as it goes; students should certainly learn to use a dictionary. But according to Hubbard, misunderstood words are not a minor problem; they are in fact “the most important barrier to study” (Learning How to Learn, p. 101; Basic Study Manual, p. 49), and “the only reason a person would stop studying or get confused or not be able to learn” (Learning How to Learn, p. 114; Basic Study Manual, preface). In fact, “THE ONLY REASON A PERSON GIVES UP A STUDY OR BECOMES CONFUSED OR UNABLE TO LEARN IS BECAUSE HE HAS GONE PAST A WORD THAT WAS NOT UNDERSTOOD” (How to Use a Dictionary, p. 282; capitalization as in the original.) This sentence also appears in the frontmatter of all Scientology religious volumes.

[From Studytech.org]

Smith’s school uses terminology, phrases and concepts that are unique to Scientology

Smith’s School’s Mission:

We believe that an individual’s survival and prosperity are inextricably bound to the rise and fall of his or her family, social groups and humankind.

[From Newvillageacademy.org, emphasis added]

L. Ron Hubbard on Ethics:

Dishonest conduct is nonsurvival. Anything is unreasonable or evil which brings about the destruction of individuals, groups, or inhibits the future of the race.

[From Scientology.org, emphasis added]

Use of “Qual” as a test to judge understanding:

Upon completion of a subject chapter such as in math, the teacher sends the student to “Qual”, where he/she is given an test in various forms. If the student scores anything less than 100%, the Qualifications teacher will sit down with the student and go over the part of the exam that was not fully understood and make sure the student understands all of the words and concepts in the chapter. The teacher will also make sure the student did not skip any concepts which would inhibit learning. This is done to help students so that they gain 100% certainty.

[From Newvillageacademy.org]

The abbreviation “Qual” is directly from Scientology, and describes a concept unique to the cult. Scientology expert Dr. Dave Touretzky corresponded with me via e-mail, and provides this explanation:

I have not seen the term “Qual” used this way in the context of Scientology-affiliated educational organizations. It use here comes straight out of the Church of Scientology itself! “Qual” is where you go when you’ve completed an auditing action in Scientology, or completed a course in the Scientology church. How revealing. Also of note is the final phrase: “100% certainty”. Notice that they did not say “mastery” or “understanding” — the terms professional educators use. They said “certainty”, which is the standard profession of faith used in Scientology. Even the Delphi schools aren’t this blatant in their use of Scientology phraseology.

[E-mail received from Dr. Dave Touretzky]

Smith’s school’s definition of ethics:

An understanding of basic ethics helps students prosper as individuals while being a part of a group. Ethics is simply the choices and actions a person takes on himself, and the ability to take responsibility for his or her actions.

[From Newvillageacademy.org, emphasis added]

Scientology’s definition of ethics:

Ethics may be defined as the actions an individual takes on himself to ensure his continued survival across the dynamics. It is a personal thing. When one is ethical, it is something he does himself by his own choice.

[From Wikipedia and Scientologyethics.org, emphasis added]

Dr. Touretzky explained this clearly as a concept unique to the cult:

The strange concept of ‘actions’ one takes on oneself, and the phrase ‘ability to take responsibility for’ are all pure Scientology, and contrary to the usual definitions of ‘ethics’ in non-cult society, which are based on concepts such as ‘morals’ or ‘good vs. evil’.

[E-mail received from Dr. Dave Touretzky]

Smith’s school’s motto: Spiraling Up!
L. Ron Hubbard wrote about the “dwindling spiral” of society, and talked about “spiraling” down. The Scientology Handbook uses the word “spiral” frequently, and it’s one of their cult-speak words that serves to “load the language” as cult experts explain, or redefine words and invent new words and phrases that have a specific meaning to the cult.

Smith’s school doesn’t disclose that it’s Scientology-based
At first glance, these concepts seem helpful and even innovative, and I was fooled by the very detailed website for Smith’s school into thinking that it might be as progressive as he claims.

Dr. Touretzky maintains that Hubbard’s “Study Tech,” is really just Scientology religion disguised as education. With a philosophy and methods based primarily on Scientology founder Hubbard’s “Study Tech,” Smith’s school may strive to indoctrinate students into Scientology with no disclosure to their families.

The curriculum and details for the New Village Academy are straight out of Study Tech, but other educational philosophies are thrown in the glossary to make it seem like a balanced education. There is no mention that most of the teaching methods are taken straight from Scientology, or that children are being taught religious concepts under the guise of a secular education.

Study Tech has no proven effectiveness, is entirely based on Scientology, and is deemed harmful by education experts
If you’re interested in reading more about this, there is very useful detail on Studytech.org. Here’s a pertinent excerpt:

The contents of the Study Tech books are taken directly from Scientology scriptures published over a period of about twenty years between approximately 1960 and 1980. Not all of the material is reproduced in exactly the same form in the Scientology and Applied Scholastics versions. A number of significant changes have been made. Hubbard’s rambling lectures have virtually been rewritten, although their underlying message remains the same. Some of the wording of original Scientology materials has been modified, presumably to make it more readable to a non-Scientologist audience. All mention of Scientology has systematically been removed, although some Scientology jargon still remains. But despite these modifications, much of the text remains close to the original Scientology versions in word or spirit. Each chapter of the Basic Study Manual is drawn from one or more original Scientology works, often retaining the same or an abbreviated version of the titles.

[From StudyTech.org]

There is not a single study or independent educational expert who can vouch for the effectiveness of Hubbard’s Study Tech, and there are only vague and unsubstantiated claims by the Scientology organizations.

Many education experts maintain that Study Tech is “old” and “inadequate” at best, and can be harmful to children, because it’s based on one man’s unproven ideas that often run counter to established, tested practices in education.

Conclusion: A Scientology school disguised as a progressive private school
Will Smith has started a school that teaches Scientology principles and is touting it as if it’s based on the latest educational research. A similar Scientology school was started in Milton, Massachusetts 10 years ago, with many parents claiming that the primary objective of the school was to recruit new members to the cult. For a celebrity who needs to distance himself from Scientology in order to ensure public acceptance, this is not the wisest move he could make.

Here’s an excellent conclusion by Dr. Touretzky:

To summarize: what this looks like to me is a bunch of Scientologists got Will Smith to bankroll a school run on Scientology principles leavened with a touch of Hollywood “we are the world” liberalism. L. Ron Hubbard, who had nothing but contempt for black Africans, would not be buying goats for impoverished villages — unless he saw a way to milk it for PR value. But to make Will Smith and his crowd think the school is “hip” and promotes Hollywood values, they throw in some
plastic recycling and token third world charity along with the usual cult indoctrination stuff.

You can bet Will’s buddy Tom Cruise had a big part in all this.

[E-mail received from Dr. Dave Touretzky]

Credit for helping to come up with the ideas for this post goes to commenters Anonymous, LS, Mairead, and FormerSCN on our original post about Smith’s school. Dr. Touretzky helped find additional ties to Scientology and analysis.

Vanessa Williams, famous Ugly Betty actress, formerly disgraced Miss America, and singer of that one song in the early nineties, is finally getting her college degree. In 1983 Williams dropped out of Syracuse University after two years. She won the Miss America crown shortly after, and had to give it back after naked photos of her were published in Penthouse. Luckily Ms. Williams didn’t let some boobs keep her down, and she’s gone on to have a pretty successful career. Now, 25 years later, she’s getting her college degree, thanks in part to credit earned on the stage and screen.

Nearly 25 years after leaving Syracuse University, Vanessa Williams will get her bachelor of fine arts degree this weekend. The 45-year-old actress-singer, who stars in ABC’s “Ugly Betty,” will also deliver the convocation address Saturday to graduates of Syracuse’s College of Visual and Performing Arts.

Williams attended Syracuse’s drama department as a musical theater major from 1981-1983. She earned the remaining credits for her degree through industry experience and performances on stage and screen.

In 1983, Williams became the first black Miss America. She surrendered the title in July 1984 after Penthouse magazine published nude, sexually explicit photographs of her taken several years earlier.

Over her career, Williams has sold more than 4 million albums, won critical praise for her performances on Broadway, made dozens of TV appearances and starred in several movies. She has won a Tony, received two NAACP Image Awards and nine Grammy nominations. In 1996, Williams received the George Arents Pioneer Medal, the university’s most prestigious alumni award.

[From the Huffington Post]

I think that’s pretty cool. I really love it when celebrities actually go back to classes to finish their degrees – but it certainly seems fair to give a BFA to an actress, since theater work would have been a requirement for her anyway. I always think it’s a little unfair when universities give honorary degrees. It seems unjust that the rest of us had to work so hard for the same thing. Many schools do it in order to get someone famous to speak at their commencement, which I think cheapens the degree and the school’s reputation. But it seems to be a pretty common thing anymore.

Regardless, Vanessa Williams attended classes for two years and worked in the field of her major, so the university gave her actual credits, and her degree isn’t honorary. Congratulations to her and the rest of this year’s graduates.

Here’s Vanessa Williams with Michael Bolton and Jane Krakowski at the2008 Lincoln Center Annual Spring Gala in New York City on April 9th. Images thanks to PR Photos.

A lot of people would probably like to ban Brooke Hogan from being within 100 yards of them. I sure would. Imagine if the whole world could get a restraining order against her. How glorious that would be. Well three Florida universities have managed to ban her – or at least deny her admission to their fine academic halls. I know, I’m jealous too. I wish I could not just ban Brooke from places but also banish her to places – several volcanic, deserted islands come to mind.

Brooke, 19, wants to film her family’s crap-ass reality show Hogan Knows Best on campus – and in the classroom - thus totally disrupting the lives of the thousands of other students for her benefit. Luckily the first three schools she applied to were smart enough to say no.

Hoping to film the VH1 reality show Hogan Knows Best with a nine-camera-wielding production team, the young member of the wrestler’s family was denied admission at those institutions [the University of South Florida, Florida State University and the University of Central Florida] out of concerns that she and her crew might disrupt the others students’ academic lives, the Palm Beach Post reports.

The upshot was, on Tuesday and Wednesday, Hogan (real name: Brooke Ellen Bollea) went to the southeast coast of the Sunshine State and toured the campus of Florida Atlantic University – where she met with Student Government president Tony Teixeira and sorority and fraternity members, as well as tooled around the grounds on two golf carts hired by the show.

No decision has been made regarding Hogan’s permission to film on campus – or even if she’ll be admitted as a student, says the newspaper, which does quote FAU spokeswoman Kristine McGrath as saying, “The university would not agree to an arrangement that would be disruptive to the academic setting.”

[From People]

All three of the universities that declined to accept Brooke said they declined to accept her because they don’t want a show filmed on their campus and in their classrooms. But here’s what confuses me: if Brooke applied to these schools and had grades good enough to get in, wouldn’t she have been accepted – but just told that she couldn’t film there? Something makes me think this is just some PR on the part of the Hogan family to cover up for Brooke not getting accepted into all three schools that she’s been blabbing about.

Here’s Brooke Hogan about to bust out of her top in a super classy dress at the Grammys on February 10th. Does she really look 19 to you? Images thanks to PR Photos.

I don’t have kids, but I like to think that when I do, I’ll be responsible about sex education. And I won’t be one of those parents that freaks out about their kid taking sex ed in school. Let’s be honest, from grades 2-4, the only reason you get through the years is the knowledge that in the spring of fifth grade, your teacher divides the class into boys and girls and you get special, illustrated pamphlets. I also hope I won’t be one of those parents who freaks out when the school says they’re going to teach kids how to use a condom by demonstrating on a banana. So while I plan to be totally awesome, I’m not sure I’d be psyched to hear that Fergie is talking to my kids about sex. I just look at her face and see herpes. But good old Stacie Ferguson decided to do a good dead and tell kids they should use condoms.

Singer Fergie took to the stage at a New York high school on Tuesday to teach students about AIDS prevention and safe sex. The Black Eyed Peas star, who was once addicted to crystal methamphetamine, urged the 10th graders at Murry Bergtraum High School to never allow themselves to be pressurized into sex without a condom.

She told the assembled 15-year-olds, “In high school I cheated on my boyfriends - whatever! (But) do you really want that person who’s just going to like you if you have unprotected sex?”

Speaking after the event, Fergie added, “It’s about building self-esteem. That’s what it’s going to take for young people to have protected sex. They have to stick to their guns.”

[From Starpulse]

I applaud her for sending a message of responsibility… it’s just that the messenger is kinda gross. Is she cool right now? I thought 15 year olds listened to Hannah Montana or something. I don’t know any teenagers. Don’t they think 33-year-olds are out of touch? I’m not saying Fergie is washed up, I just didn’t realize kids would respond to her any better than your average Planned Parenthood rep. I guess I’ve just heard so many unflattering things about Fergie over the years… what with the peeing herself onstage, the crazy over-arched eyebrows and bad makeup… the peeing herself onstage. I’m sorry, but that’s just not the kind of thing that should be glossed over. But it’s good that she got out there, and it sounds like she spoke in a real way, and hopefully the students responded and will use condoms. And not pee themselves.

Here’s Fergie at the 4th Annual Black Eyed Peas Peapod Foundation Benefit Concert in Hollywood yesterday. Images thanks to PR Photos.

Many times I have written articles about pregnant celebrities and mentioned how absolutely terrified I am of the concept of giving birth. I mean I want to have kids more than anything in the world, but I really wish I could pick them up at the local market, instead of growing them from scratch. Well it turns out all of my fears have been diminished. Why? Because not-very-well-respected-anymore singer Joss Stone wants to be a midwife. And what rational person wouldn’t want a barefoot-in-public, purple-hair-sporting quasi-soul-singer pulling a baby out of you? That’s right, no one.

Joss sat down for an intimate question and answer with the Sydney Morning Herald, and talked about her plans for the future and her struggles as an artist.

At midnight, sitting in a Swiss hotel room, the rest of her life weighs comfortably on the conversation. “I really don’t plan on dying and saying I was just a singer,” says Joss Stone, thinking about her future. “I want to do many different things. I’m really excited to see what’s going to happen in the next couple of years because it’s not going to be the same.”

“I would actually like to go back to school, which is funny because I really hated school with a passion. I’d like to go back and do some degrees and I want to be a midwife, actually. I think that would take me about three years.”

[From the Sydney Morning Herald]

Well I feel relieved. I love how almost all celebrities say they’re going to do this or that other thing because they know what they’re doing isn’t helping people and they want to enrich their lives and all that stuff. How often does it come to fruition? I know there’s a couple famous people out there that have tried their hands at other professions, but how many have done so successfully? Can anyone think of a well respected actor/cardiothoracic surgeon? A brilliant model/trial lawyer? An esteemed former-teen-prodigy soul singer/midwife? It’s just too weird. I mean it’s cute for a movie of the week, but you don’t want someone like that between your legs.

Incidentally, spending a bit too much time between her producers’ legs is exactly how Joss Stone got her current reputation/lost all credibility as an artist.

About a week ago, I wrote an article about Maddox Jolie-Pitt leaving his school after only six weeks because Brangelina were moving to Los Angeles for Angie’s new movie. I speculated that it couldn’t be great for Maddox to have to leave schools after such a short period of time. Several commenters pointed out that Army kids move a lot, which is very true. I’m under the impression that they generally don’t have to move several times a year, and if nothing else, their parents don’t have quite the same ability to choose not to move as Angelina and Brad do. What I have to say on the issue doesn’t really matter because I’m just some random person, but the New York Daily News has decided to get a professional to jump on board.

BRAD PITT and Angelina Jolie may not be doing their four children any favors by constantly schlepping them from city to city around the world. The nomadic superstars, who have lived in at least a half-dozen cities in two years, may be hurting their eldest son, Maddox, 6, by pulling him from schools and the younger three by “not creating a stable environment outside the family unit,” said Manhattan-based psychotherapist/social worker Puja Hall, who’s been practicing for 21 years. “Maddox is an adopted child, so he already has a sense of abandonment,” said Hall. “Kids that constantly move are like army brats, in that very often they don’t want to open up to people. They feel loss, and there is a problem with attachment.”

So far, the Jolie-Pitt clan has lived in New Orleans, Paris, Namibia, Berlin and, most recently, New York, where Maddox attended the prestigious Lycée Francais for just six weeks. Now they’re in L.A., where Jolie is shooting “The Changeling.” Pitt and Jolie are rumored to have enrolled at least one of the kids at Universal Studio’s child-care center. “With the moves, the kids just don’t invest in relationships, because they’re going to lose them anyway,” Hall told Page Six’s Marianne Garvey. “They think: ‘Why bother? I’m not gonna stick around. We’re gonna pick up and go, and the loss of friends is painful.’ ”

Hall added that before Pax, 3, Zahara, 2, and Shiloh, 16 months, get any older, Angelina and Brad need to decide where to settle down. “It needs to be weighed,” said Hall. “At some point, they will have to make some important choices so the kids can form those bonds and keep them.”

That’s not the only problem - the kids also seem to be skipping the waiting lists at the schools. “We would most likely not take a child for [just] a few months, because we have a waiting list. If we take them for two months and you pay for two months, we lose money and someone on the waiting list loses a spot,” said an employee at Lycée Francais, where the yearly tuition is $18,000 plus a $2,000 contract-signing fee. “You still have to pay for at least half the year,” the staff member said.

[From the Daily News]

So it would have behooved the expert to mention that he’s (presumably) never met nor treated Brangelina’s kids, so everything he’s saying is professional conjecture, though it still carries some weight. I remember hearing a psychologist once say that human beings aren’t nearly as original as we like to think we are – for the most part, we tend to react in pretty predictable ways. Still, if Brangelina manage to instill a love of adventure in their kids from an early age, they could thrive under their unique circumstances. Angelina’s rep also noted that Maddox only attends Lycée schools (which are located throughout the country and the world), which may mean there’s more stability than we thought. It’s possible that if Maddox cycles between the same few schools through the years, he might maintain friendships with kids he meets often enough. One would also hope this means there’s a little bit of similarity between the curricula, so perhaps Maddox’s unique circumstances mean his moves aren’t as jarring as one would think.

I like Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt well enough, though I don’t think they’re the second coming like a lot of people, but they’re pretty good, especially as celebrities go. The two have constantly said that their kids are the center of their lives, and considering how many of them they’re racking up, one would hope it’s true. Yet they haven’t curbed their jet setting lifestyle or established any type of clear home base for the kids, and that’s kind of worrisome. Most people agree that kids thrive on routine with a little variety thrown in, and not the other way around. After a just a little over a month at his new school, Maddox has been taken out of Lycee Francais de New York. Angelina is filming a new movie in Los Angeles, so the family is now heading there, and the kids are being yanked around again.

“After a little over a month, Maddox Jolie-Pitt, 5, had his last day at his $18,000-a-year Lycee Francais de New York in NYC yesterday, walking out with a goodbye card as a souvenir as mom Angelina Jolie escorted him home. This is at least the fourth school change for Maddox, who has also been a student in New Orleans, Prague, and L.A.

“Since the oldest member of the Jolie-Pitt brood started classes on September 4, his stay had caused a frenzy. Parents began crowding the school in the morning, taking pictures. The Lycee’s director of operations, Dan Cooke, even penned a letter September 14, urging them to respect the family’s privacy.

“The next stop for the Brangelina clan? L.A.! Jolie begins shooting the Clint Eastwood mystery The Changeling on Monday, while Brad Pitt will start production on the crime thriller State of Play on October 22.”

[From Us Weekly]

It’s hard to say if it would be better for the kids to have one home base and see their parents less, or if they should have tutors that go with them everywhere so their educations aren’t disrupted, or if bouncing from school to school is the best option. None of the options are really ideal. I just remember how the new kids in school were always treated as outsiders and a little weird – now imagine you’re the child of famous parents, and you’re the new kid a couple times a year. That’s got to make it hard to make friends and feel like there’s people you can trust. I really don’t think it’s fair to tell people not to care about their careers, but I think that if you’re going to have kids, you need to be willing to sacrifice a bit. Having to leave a new school after just a month makes it seem like the only sacrifice is coming from Maddox.

Picture note by Jaybird: Here’s the goodbye card given to Maddox by his classmates today on his last day of school. Images thanks to Splash Photos.

Poor Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt. They’ve been seriously inconvenienced lately when dropping off their oldest son Maddox at Manhattan’s ultra-posh Lycee Francais school. People are asking them for pictures, autographs, or just having the general nerve to say their names. But if nothing else, these are random street hooligans, right? Well, no. They’re other Lycee Francais parents. A little embarrassing. Considering how fancy the school is, you’d think the parents would be a little more annoyed by the Brangelina hubbub than the other way around, but sadly that’s not the case.

“The New York Observer reports that the Lycee’s director of operations, Dan Cooke, had to ask parents to leave Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie alone. He wrote in a letter, ‘Regretfully, I have seen some parents taking pictures, asking for autographs, talking to the media and even shouting at Ms. Jolie and Mr. Pitt for recognition. Therefore, in the best interests of the school and safety of your child(ren) I must ask for everyone to please respect the family’s privacy and discontinue these practices.’

“Meanwhile, Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt have made concerted efforts to ensure that the chaos [sic] that surrounds them is kept to a minimum when dropping son Maddox, 5, off for classes. Cooke explains in his letter:

“‘I’m sure you are aware the school has received much media attention recently during the arrival and dismissal times because of the presence of celebrities Ms. Angelina Jolie and/or Mr. Brad Pitt. I want to make you aware that before the first day of school I met with their security team to discuss the best manner in which for them to drop off and pick up their son. Our foremost goal was to cause the least amount of disruption to the school and to ensure the security of all of our students and families.’”

[From US Weekly]

I expected Upper East Side parents to have a bit more decorum about them, just not give a damn, or if nothing else be righteously annoyed by the Brangelina spectacle. Turns out they’re just a bunch of screaming girls at a Beatles concert like the rest of us. Too old a reference? Okay, turns out they’re just a bunch of screaming girls at a Justin Timberlake concert. That could really make those parent open houses awkward. Someone says hello to Brad Pitt, Brad’s security team knocks the parent over and confiscates their cell phone… and their camera… and their binoculars… okay I guess these people really are freaks.

It actually is enough of a problem that Maddox has become afraid of the paparazzi and all the screaming at school lately.

“A source tells the Observer that the constant attention of the paparazzi (and eager parents) has already had an effect on adopted son Maddox. The normally happy Mad got scared and started to cry when his kindergarten class was asked to bring in a picture of themselves.”

[From US Weekly]

Maybe he’s just crying because he’s got that silly Mohawk in all those pictures and he’s too embarrassed to bring one in? I’m kidding, the Mohawk is adorable. He’s probably actually crying because all of the family photos are in Us Weekly.

Picture note by JayBird: Here’s Angelina and Brad picking Maddox up from Lycee Francais. You can see that it looks like there’s a lot of students lined up to look at them, though no visible parents. Images thanks to the Daily Mail.