But Oprah, how do you spell L-U-C-K-Y?
Posted on May 28, 2004
Filed Under Misc.
Front page article in today’s paper about Oprah Winfrey delivering the “commencement address”:http://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/local/scn-sa-ga5may28,0,2511060.story?coll=stam-news-local-headlines at Greenwich Academy.
bq. “You make me proud to spell my name W-O-M-A-N,” she told the group, which included her goddaughter…
“Greenwich Academy”:http://www.greenwichacademy.org/ is a private all-girls prep school in Greenwich, CT. I don’t know how much the tuition is, but I imagine it’s substantial. The picture on the front page of today’s paper looked like Oprah Winfrey was standing in a debutante’s ball.
We are in an affluent county near New York City so it’s not uncommon to see celebrities doing this or that. But when schools are involved, it’s usually the private ones. It drives me nuts when they speak to the upper crust about how wonderful they are without emphasizing the fact that these young ladies are lucky to have the world at their feet. It’s not about money. It’s about opportunity, and these girls that Oprah spoke to have every choice in the world. Wait until they have to make their own way in the world. Will they describe their “community” to include those that don’t have the opportunities they do, or will “community” be limited to their country club?
The high school students who make me proud are the ones who get high grades even though they have to work an afterschool job for their spending money. The ones whose parents can’t afford to send them to private schools, private tutoring or expensive activities. The girls who go to a school where peer pressure is telling them that “getting by” is “good enough” but they put in the extra effort anyway because their motivation to suceed comes from a place deep inside.
Maybe those girls Oprah spoke to make her proud because they know what is expected of them and they rise to it. But let’s see what happens when they have to set their own bar. If they ever do.
Comments
6 Responses to “But Oprah, how do you spell L-U-C-K-Y?”
Leave a Reply
Maybe those girls Oprah spoke to make her proud because they know what is expected of them and they rise to it. But let’s see what happens when they have to set their own bar. If they ever do.
I dunno… I’ve had a lot of experience in this area lately, in seeing a broad cross-section of kids from different economic backgrounds both personally and through a sibling who works with special needs in public schools.
Any kid who is doing well is someone to be proud of, their economic background should be secondary, as, by and large, it’s a very secondary factor in a childs later success. The factor I look for isn’t how disadvantaged the child is economically, but familia… its all about the parents. You could trace lines between bad parents generally having problems economically, but it’s not a place I’m willing to go.
Some of the people I’m most proud to know are richer than I’ll ever be, and some of them are poorer than I hope I ever am… but it all generally traces back to their rents. If I had to start laying conditions on “how” proud I would be of a kid because of their starting line, that’s where I’d set my control.
It’s not about money, it’s about opportunity. There are too many kids who don’t have the motivation to suceed in school because they know that no matter how well they do, they’re not going to college anyway.
That’s a mindset (intrisic motivation), and an unfortunate one that parents and mentors can change. I volunteered for a summer in the poorest county in america (least at the time), a place called mashulaville, mississippi. Awful place when you get down to it. Schools were woefully underfunded. Some houses had dirt floors.
By your logic, theoretically the kids would have no chance in hell of college or anything else… but it doesn’t work that way in this country, luckily. Is it harder for some? Yes… but you make your opportunities. Lots of kids I had contact with while I was there are exactly where there parents were, but many aren’t. The difference, by and large, was the parents and the willingness to make your own opportunities.
There are always going to be “disadvantaged”, whether economic or intellectual or emotional. With everything I’ve seen, any time any kid, no matter where they come from, is doing well for themselves is something to be proud of in my book.
I agree completely, db. But that’s not my point.
Celebrities give motivational speeches at prep school graduations, talking about how wonderful these students are. I’m sure many are great kids, some of which will take the fortune that life has granted them and will run with it. Unfortunately, what I see all too often here are these kids who don’t realize how lucky they are and the responsibility to those around them that comes with it if you want society to thrive. Their idea of “community” extends just to those people who go to the same swim/tennis club. Sure, they may write a check or attend a fundraiser if asked.
I live in a county where it’s not uncommon to hear 9 year-olds comparing cell phone plans and talking about what kind of car they’ll get on their 16th birthday. We love living here. But I often get frustrated when I see that kind of mentality catered to.
Whether wealthy or not, every child deserves the right to have dreams and someone to encourage them. Being from a wealthier background doesn’t mean that a particular child doesn’t have to work hard, it just means they grow up in a different environment. Just look at Oprah herself and were she came from. She had dreams and someone encouraged her to do something about them and she was as poor as hell. Going to a private school doesn’t stop people having ambition and it is unfair to criticise anyone who is trying to encourage someone to do what they want and to believe in themselves.
Exactly my point, Jennifer. I’m not knocking the wealthy. Every parent makes a choice for their own children, and I’m not knocking those that decide on private school. However, *every* child deserves to have a celebrity stand in front of them. *Every* child should be motivated by someone that they idolize and respect, which in our society is often a celebrity. The private schools get Oprah Winfrey and Katie Couric and other inspiring women to stand before them. I wish the students in the public schools had that opportunity to have someone they respect talk directly to them.