Why do sex scandals keep happening at Oprah's school in South Africa?
Less than two years old, Oprah’s school for girls in South Africa has already been rocked by two sex scandals.
Obviously, this was not Oprah’s intent when setting up the school.
Being Oprah, the intent was most likely eating a large amount of candy, and the school itself is some sort of elaborate Rube Goldberg scheme to do just that, the intricacies of which we couldn’t begin to fathom, but surely involve gooey marshmallow centers at some point down the line.
But, it is another example of what happens when someone with an awful lot of money and great media fanfare, but who doesn’t really know what they are doing, is let loose upon something bureaucratic and deceptively complex.
A school is more than the sum of its physical parts: books, a campus, students, teachers, computers, whatever else Oprah bought.
Administering the school, creating a culture of respect and support, installing measures to make sure abuse doesn’t happen: you can’t buy these things. You cannot wish for them, or hope they will happen, or shout CHANGE! and they’ll magically appear.
It’s much, much, much more complex than that.
Since this is the second time a sex scandal broke out at her school, we wonder how seriously Oprah took the first instance, and what she did to make sure a second episode didn’t happen. Evidently, she didn’t do enough.
The children in that school deserve better. Oprah was generous in providing such a wonderful environment for learning; it’s too bad she can’t ensure the children who attend her school aren’t abused like this.
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I had not heard that some thing else happened. Maybe if she re-names it the Barrack Obama Dreams things might change, especially if he gives a speech.
Don’t let the Los Angeles City Council hear about this. They’ll send our Mayor Photo Op to recruit the head mistress/master at Oprah’s school to run the LA Unified School District. Couldn’t be much worse than the asshats who’ve been running it (into the ground) the past 20+ years.
Maybe we should now start calling her Pope-rah.
Oprah picks these students. It is part of her character.
Look, adults can do whatever they want. But, these don’t have the capacity to know right from wrong. They are learning this from their mentor, plain and simple.
Oprah doesn’t need to teach any kid (or mentor anybody if you ask me). She is expressing behavior and obviously her criticism of Chicago schools was a joke b/c she is the joke, plain and simple.
Karma is a b*****.
Gee MAYBE IF you want to open a school for childrens you shouldn’t build it on the other side of the world, so you can actually keep an eye on it and stop in ect, I know I know she gave the kids her phone number or email last time it happen, but what kid will call and complain?
and WHY does this ariticle make me think of people who never ran anything now not only thinking they can run a country (and finding 50 million people stupid enough to believe them and vote for him) but now thinks he can run businesses? We are all in so much trouble. I tell my Dem family members, they better vote straight Republican in 2010 so at least Obama can’t ram every thing thru. I just hope our Country isn’t damaged too much until then.
Oprah thinks she can cure the ills of the Third World countries with money. Forget about the generations it will take to accomplish that and the layer upon layer of effort, intelligence and planning that will be required, not to mention the motivation of the countries themselves (which I don’t think is there). All she thinks she has to do is throw money at it and poof…poverty will disappear, ignorance will vanish, cities will spring up…oh wait…wasn’t that what Obama offered us?
I am a mildly intelligent person. I had a moderately successful career in technology. I have worked through Einstein’s tensor mathematics. I am reasonably conversant in philosophy, theology, quantum mechanics, history, evolution, cosmology, cosmogony and thermodynamics.
I also have enough common sense to call a plumber when the sink is leaking.
I would add hubris as the eighth deadly sin. Or is it already covered in the original seven?
Yes, it is–Pride.
For those who have trouble remembering them, I recommend the Warren Zevon song “Mr. Bad Example.”
“I’m very well acquainted with the seven deadly sins
I keep a busy schedule tryin’ to fit them in
I’m proud to be a glutton and I don’t have time for sloth
I’m greedy and I’m angry and I don’t care who I cross.”
JackDaddy,
Sorry, I am not familiar with the works of Zevon as he was after my time. I thank you for the reference and will crank up my trusty YouTube and give him a listen.
My sense is that hubris is a modern sin that appeared with the enlightenment and the scientific method. Prior to those developments the world was mysterious and impervious to human analysis. With a new found methodology to understand things came an overestimation of human capability. In the vernacular: too damned smart for your own good.
I think it is subtly different than Pride in that Pride is an inordinate celebration of things past whilst Hubris is an unrealistic confidence in one’s ability to understand the world.
I’ll probably retract this post in the morning. It’s late and I have this penchant for gin.
Roy
Roy ~
I think there have always been those human beings who have a very clear understanding of that which they know little or nothing about – and insist on sharing their wisdom with lesser individuals. Algore is not unique in the history of mankind. LOL.
Auntie Lib,
Indeed. But I think that there are far more now than in Biblical times. Now there’s a lot of edumacation going around.
People don’t change much over the eons but the sins have their seasons. Sort of like hemlines. Hubris didn’t make the big seven back then. Just wondering if that was an oversight.
Roy
Quite frankly I am not surprised. Her judgment is not very strong. Not only did she sell the ONE..she had numerous guests that were fake…so I am not surprised that her school doesn’t amount to much. Guess the only thing she can do is count money.Wait a minute someone does that for her.
And eat!
Orcah digusts me.
O/T – we’re finally having a WNY tea party! Saturday, April 18th, 1-5pm, Club W at 199 Delaware Ave, Buffalo. Admission is free.
YAY!
I feel for the girls who are just trying to get an education.
Others have started schools around the globe but have the savvy to hire outsiders to be in charge.
I am confused. What do you mean when you use the word “ONE”?
It is a shame the school is having trouble. I am not a fan of Oprah, IMO she is way over rated and full of herelf, but I am sorry the students at the school are being abused.
Why do you really think this has happened twice? I think it shows that just throwing money at a population and trying to educatute them does not take away some of the things that have plagued mankind over the centuries.
“I think it shows that just throwing money at a population and trying to educatute them does not take away some of the things that have plagued mankind over the centuries”
This applies to the whole continent of Africa for the past 50 years.As more and more boatloads of African refugees arrive here in europe to enjoy our magical, wonderful (although leaking and sinking)welfare state I’m moved to wonder is there any rational reason why the continent of Africa can’t come up with one ,just one ,functioning democracy .One non- corrupt,non-basketcase country.I’m as ready to give a helping hand to the needy as the next fella ,but several trillion dollars and half a century later this is becoming ridiculous and counter -productive.Its about time you took responsibility for your own cultural shortcomings and country
The problem with a school of this nature is that it has no overriding theme or mission. It exists for Oprah – a photo op when she needs a diversion. She may have good intentions but altruism wasn’t one of them, it was all about the glory and look at me I’m soooo good and enlightened. My question is, what happens to these educated girls when they graduate – will Oprah provide university or college scholarships or perhaps a job?