Posted on 03/11/2007 8:36:18 PM PDT by Niuhuru
Johannesburg - The rules at Oprah Winfrey's ultra-posh school at Henley-on-Klip near Johannesburg are apparently so strict they make a reformatory look like a holiday resort.
I'm sure the girls won't complain. Most of them came from such impoverished and dangerous neighborhoods.... they will deal.
I don't care for Oprah but no one is making these girls stay. Also, if they are so poor where are the cell phones and junk food at home, coming from?
I hate to defend Oprah, but none of that sounds unreasonable. It's her dime and she is investing in these girls futures. She is molding them to change Africa for the better, so a little discipline and keeping them safe from the usual rapist and rift raft that is destroying that Continent sounds like a great thing.
I read that they get those for snacks instead of junk food. What are the visitation times for private schools here? Anyone know?
I understand about security, but their own families? That's overboard. These kids need to see their own families.
And I agree that the school can set its own rules but it appears that the parents weren't aware of them at the outset. That's out of line, too. Make it clear up front and no one has any complaints.
I'm not sure, but I don't think so. There was one girl on TV after the opening who missed Oprah because the driver sent to pick here up was late to get to the school. Oprah called her on the phone, and the girl's speech sounded rather polished. Now this IS supposed to be a school for leaders, and it's certainly Oprah's right to spend her money as she sees fit, but it seems to me that these students don't really need the extra educational help if that young girl was indicative of the caliber of student attending the school. It seems like that they'd be the group that would receive a higher education and likely move out of the country to find more profitable work elsewhere.
First, Oprah says she built her school in Africa because kids in America don't really care about education. Now, she's accused of being too strict. Oprah may be guilty of understanding that making self-centered kids feel good about themselves by lowering standards isn't going to save humanity. So much for "It Takes a Village".
If it is a "leadership" school for young, impressionable children, the last thing they want is parental interference. I'm just sayin'.
She sunk a mint in to this school. I saw a TV show on it and these kids and their parents ought to keep their damn mouths shut. They are lucky that they have the opportunity she is giving them. She's hired the best of the best and the girls they let in the school had to make the cut to get in.
Sounds like an old Soviet Olympic sports program.
The Soviets sunk a mint into the program. The slots were limited. The coaches were the best of the best. The children-athletes had to make a cut. It was "an opportunity" for those children.
If the parents complained that their children were now the property of the Soviet state, the parents had to keep their damn mouths shut.
How do the arbitrary control freak rules of the Oprah School, that effectively cut off children from their parents, advance the quality of education in any way?
Just because Oprah can afford to buy economically unfortunate human beings and treat them like pet hamsters does not mean that she should.
Mmmm, good point.
Some say Winfrey is a big liberal. I don't know, I've never watched her talk show. She's made all her money after coming from poverty and in this case she is putting her money on the table. That's cool.
Excellent point. Those children are not Oprah's property and I think the parents would be more than happy to be a part of their children's academic life. With the squalor that their parents live in, without a doubt the parents would be more than happy to encourage them and make sure that they aren't slacking.
All I know is that it's weird of Oprah to want the kids to be so isolated from their families. When I mentioned that this wouldn't work in the US, I do question what it is that Oprah is having taught that the children need to be so isolated.
"First, Oprah says she built her school in Africa because kids in America don't really care about education. Now, she's accused of being too strict. Oprah may be guilty of understanding that making self-centered kids feel good about themselves by lowering standards isn't going to save humanity."
The thing is, Oprah helped foster this attitude in America and now complains about the results. Now she's sinking a lot of money in a school in Africa, complaining about American kids, while she is the one who encouraged this fuzzy thinking that has undermined the raw ambition that has characterized successful school environments and as a result, successful students and eventually a successful citizenry.
It's not. Did you see the TV program that showed the school? It has nothing in common with anything "old" and "soviet".
I also posted from the "locked thread":
I'm not buying the story. I'm not a big Oprah fan but if this is true you can expect it to be fixed.
OTOH, Oprah could have put up the bucks, and left it to local "leaders" to manage the place. I know of several cases in Haiti where sponsors sent money to support an orphan. The family usually used the orphan for slave labor and pocketed the money. Oprah isn't personally overseeing this place, so it's possible that the management is out of control.
The third possibility is that Oprah, who has always struck me as being a little bit nutty, is a control freak and thinks the best way to deal with the parents is to alienate them and create her own little army of Oprahs to take over the world.
Finally, I'd be hesitant to form judgement on a report made primarily on hearsay from a couple of parents.
The whole school has reminded me of some kind of Gaya version of Jim Jones ever since it started.
I'll only make one bet. There's going to be some kind of major scandal out of this school, and it's going to be really weird.
A few of the things don't make sense. SA has a relatively large middle class for Africa, so there are certainly families with cell phones and computers with email. However, this has been sold to the public as Oprah getting kids out of the ghettos of SA. Poor in SA is way different from poor in US. If a poor kid in SA had anything of value, they'd almost immediately be killed by muggers. If these kids have cell phones and email, and so do their parents, this school just grabbed some kids that were already getting an education. Way different from assisting a kid who was eating rat innards sitting next to a camp fire.
Perhaps she has contributed to the problem, but don't begrudge her efforts toward a solution. (Ronald Reagan was also a liberal before "The Hasty Heart".)
defending a "liberal" indoctrination camp placemarker
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