Cruise calls for education reform - 2003-12-05
Cruise calls for education reform December 5, 2003,
LOS ANGELES, Dec. 5 (UPI) -- Actor Tom Cruise says most children with learning disabilities need study tools -- not behavior-altering drugs -- to overcome their problems.
Asked by a journalist at a Los Angeles news conference what he wanted out of life, the actor, who credits Scientology with helping him overcome dyslexia, replied: "I want a world without war. I want a world without insanity. I want to see people do well. I don't even think it's as much what I want for myself, it's more what I want for the people around me. That's what I want. I really want to see the end to the drugging of children throughout the world as a solution to improper education."
Cruise said literacy programs he supports teach essential study tools to people who have difficulty learning in a traditional sense. The actor went on to criticize those who believe education is more about memorization than "the ability to take in data or information and differentiate that data so that you can then think with it and go out and apply it in your life and get a job, be happy and have a family."