The January Exodus Continued …

Another ex-student who left in January, 2012, wrote the following post describing her experience and decision to end her “school” tenure. She departed independent of the  mass exodus. Her story was posted on esoteric freedom, so it disappeared when the blog was illegally removed:

Several months ago, I was asked to help lead a Bible study program at my church. It’s on Tuesday nights. When I was asked to do it, I felt this amazing surge of relief. I at last had a reason, other than money, to walk away from school. And I do have the academic credentials to do it, even though I felt those were diminished by our teachers. I did four years of continuing education in Hebrew and Christian scripture, church history and theology through the Sewanee School of Theology, associated with a university in the south. I’d read the Gnostic Gospels long before Robert assigned it to me and told me not to be “literal.” I am not literal in my view of any of the Bible.

I said yes to leading Bible study, but that I couldn’t do it until the beginning of the year. I felt committed to the Christmas party. Then I started wobbling. Maybe I would tell the church I couldn’t do it after all. But a meeting with my financial planner in early January, and the knowledge that I was not going to be able to come up with the next month’s tuition when it was due, sealed the deal.

I walked out of school the night of January 5 totally disgusted with ‘help’ that Robert gave a couple of people. I got home from work on Friday and had a message to call Carol right away. She wanted to know if I had seen a sheet of paper that was being passed around among some students and she made some remark about the “no fraternization policy.” I said I hadn’t seen it and she hung up.

Then I sat down at my computer and started googling “OSG esoteric.”

The esoteric freedom web site came up immediately. And soon I was looking at Robert’s face and reading that he’d been married to Jeannine once and more recently (perhaps still) to someone else associated with school. And he wasn’t alone in this “creatively insincere” interpretation of “no fraternization.”

I was curious about the sheet of paper that had been passed among some of you and toyed with the idea of coming to class one last time on Tuesday, Jan. 10 to see what it might have been about. But what I read Friday night and continued to read over the weekend made me realize I couldn’t sit in the room with Robert ever again.

I spent that entire weekend almost unable to tear myself away from esoteric freedom and the “Robert Klein Pages.” I was mesmerized and horrified.

I was hoping that someone of you would be able to find me since my first name is not usual. And somehow, someone did and (student x) called me. I was thrilled!

Tonight I’m missing Bible study so I can listen to the State of the Union and maybe see the Northern Lights. It was nice to know I could call my co-leader and tell her I wouldn’t be there without fear of consequences.

I’m sure those students who remain in the old mill building have been told we were all asked to leave for some transgression or other. I hope they can see through the charade.

2 thoughts on “The January Exodus Continued …

  1. Odysseus says:

    It’s great to read your story!

    I think the best part is seeing how a real interest and wanting to give something to your community was the proximate cause of your decision. While in “school”, we are loaded up with so many other “surrogate interests” that our real interests and desires get buried. You didn’t let that happen to you, and that is wonderful!

    Hopefully things have normalized in your financial life now that the vampires are no longer attached to your wallet.

    Incidentally, tonight is the 5-year anniversary of my leaving “school”. I am marking the occasion by kicking back with a glass of Laphroaig and toasting all of us who have attained our own ‘Esoteric Freedom’.

  2. Cheers, Odysseus! I’ll raise a glass to your five years out and to the general toast as well.

    And yes, “school” buried us/buries its current students. So much of what makes each person a unique and lovely individual gets lost within the hallowed halls, and chained to its weighty demands, in the name of “freedom”.

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