In Scientology training we use a system called TWIN CHECKOUTS. Each student is assigned a "twin" to work with. The student studies his assigned material and is sometimes coached over the rough spots by his twin. When the student knows the material, he is then given a checkout by his twin. If he flunks, he returns to study and when ready gets a new checkout. When he passes, the twin signs the assignment sheet certifying that he has grasped it. The assignment sheet is turned in to the Course Supervisor at the end of the period.

Earlier forms of education suffer because of a habit. The habit is all one's years of formal schooling where this mistake is the whole way of life.

If the student knows the words, the teacher assumes he knows the tune.

It will never do a student any good at all to know some facts. The student is expected only to use facts.

It is so easy to confront thought and so hard to confront action that the teacher often complacently lets the student mouth words and ideas that mean nothing to the student.

ALL THEORY CHECKOUTS MUST CONSULT THE STUDENT’S UNDERSTANDING.

If they don't, they're useless and will upset the student eventually.

Course difficulties stem entirely from the students' non-comprehension of words and data.

While this can be cured by auditing, why audit it all the time when you can prevent it in the first place by adequate theory checkout?

There are two phenomena here.

When a student misses understanding a word, the section right after that word is a blank in his memory. You can always trace back to the word just before the blank, get it understood and find miraculously that the former blank area is not now blank in the text. The above is pure magic.

The second phenomenon occurs after the student has gone by many misunderstood words. He begins to dislike the subject being studied, more and more. This is followed by various mental and physical conditions and by various complaints, fault-finding and look-what-you-did-to-me. This justifies a departure, a blow, from the subject being studied.

But the system of education, frowning on blows as it does, causes the student to really withdraw self from the study subject (whatever he was studying) and set up in its place a circuit which can receive and give back sentences and phrases.

We now have "the quick student who somehow never applies what he learns".

The specific phenomena then is that a student can study some words and give them back and yet be no participant to the action. The student gets A+ on exams but can 't apply the data.

Demonstration is the key here. The moment you ask this type of student to demonstrate a rule or theory with his hands or the paper clips on your desk this glibness will shatter.

The reason for this is that in memorizing words or ideas, the student can still hold the position that it has nothing to do with him or her. It is a total circuit action. Therefore, very glib. The moment you say "Demonstrate" that word or idea or principle, the student has to have something to do with it. And shatters.

The thoroughly dull student is just stuck in the non-comprehend blankness following some misunderstood word.

The "very bright" student who yet can't use the data isn't there at all. He has long since ceased to confront the subject matter or the subject.

The cure for either of these conditions of "bright non-comprehension" or "dull" is to find the missing word.

But these conditions can be prevented by not letting the student go beyond the missed word without grasping its meaning. And that is the duty of the twin.

Coaching Theory means getting a student to define all the words, give all the rules, demonstrate things in the text with his hands or bits of things, and also may include doing Definitions of Scientology terms.

The usual Course Supervisor action would be to have any student who is having any trouble or is slow or glib team up with a twin of comparable difficulties and have them turn about with each other with Theory Coaching.

Then when they have a text assignment coached, they give their twin a checkout. The checkout is a spot checkout, a few definitions or rules and some demonstration of them.

Giving a text assignment check by seeing if it can be quoted or paraphrased proves exactly nothing. This will not guarantee that the student knows the data or can use or apply it nor even guarantees that the student is there. Neither the "bright" student nor the "dull" student (both suf­fering from the same malady) will benefit from such an examination.

So examining by seeing if somebody "knows" the text and can quote or paraphrase it is completely false and must not be done.

Correct examination is done only by making the person being tested answer

(a) The meanings of the words (redefining the words used in his own words and demonstrating their use in his own made up sentences), and

(b) Demonstrating how the data is used.

The twin can ask what the words mean. And the twin can ask for examples of action or application.

"What is the first paragraph?" is about as dull as one can get. "What are the rules given about.....?" a question I would never bother to ask. Neither of these tell the twin whether he has the bright non-applier or the dull student before him. Such questions just beg for natter and course blows.

I would go over the first paragraph of any material I was examining a student on and pick out some uncommon words. I'd ask the student to define each and demonstrate its use in a made up sentence and flunk the first "Well.... er… let me see.... " and that would be the end of that checkout. I wouldn't pick out only Scientologese. I'd pick out words that weren't too ordinary such as "benefit" "permissive" "calculated" as well as "engram".

Students I was personally examining would begin to get a hunted look and carry diction­aries — but they wouldn't begin to natter or get sick or blow. And they'd use what they learned.

Above all, I myself would be sure I knew what the words meant before I started to exam­ine.

Dealing with new technology and the necessity to have things named, we especially need to be alert.

Before you curse our terms, remember that a lack of terms to describe phenomena can be twice as incomprehensible as having involved terms that at least can be understood eventually.

We do awfully well, really, better than any other science or subject. We lack a dictionary but we can remedy that.

But to continue with how one should examine, when the student had the words, I'd demand the music. What tune do these words play?

I'd say "All right, what use is this text assignment to you?" Questions like, "Now this rule here about not letting pcs eat candy while being audited, how come there'd be such a rule?" And if the student couldn't imagine why, I'd go back to the words just ahead of that rule and find the one he hadn't grasped.

I'd ask "What are the 3 parts of the ARC triangle?" And when the student gave them, I'd still have the task of satisfying myself that the student understood why those were the 3 parts. I'd ask "How come?" after he'd given them to me. Or "What are you going to do with these?"

But if the student wasn't up to the point of study where knowing why he used the ARC triangle was not part of his materials, I wouldn't ask. For all the data about not examining above level applies very severely to Theory Checkout as well as to Practical and general Instruction.

I might also have a stack of paper clips and rubber bands and use them to have students show me they knew the words and ideas.

Theory often says "Well, they take care of all that in Practical. " Oh no they don't. When you have a Theory Section that believes that, Practical can't function at all.

Practical goes through the simple motions. Theory covers why one goes through the motions.

I don't think I have to beat this to death for you.

You've got it.

Dictionaries should be available to students in Theory and should be used in Twin Checkouts as well, preferably the same publication. Dictionaries don't always agree with each other.

No Twin should try to define English language words out of his own head when correct­ing a student as it leads to too many arguments. On English words, open a dictionary.

A Scientology dictionary will be available in a few months from the date of this bulletin as one is being rushed into publication.