January 2, 2007, the second day of a new year for many, the first day of school for 152 lucky South African children. The Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy opened today in South Africa and has the capacity to accommodate 450 new South African Students. Oprah handpicked the first class of 12 and 13 year-old girls, 152 were selected out of the more than 3,500 applicants.
Thousands more will be interviewed to fill the remaining grade levels showing the extreme demand for education not only in South Africa, but around the entire world. Granted Oprah's new facility is state of the art thus attracting an exorbitant amount of attention the question arises, what is going to happen to those students not accepted$%: Time will only tell however I can tell you this, those not accepted won't be rejected because they lack an eagerness to learn, or they weren't smart enough, or because they don't quite fit the prototypical student persona. It will be because there simply isn't enough room.
It's an unfair pessimistic perspective however it is the truth. Not everybody is afforded a and it is a very pertinent problem in the world. Its interesting how something so great can bring a harsh perspective of how the world really is. Oprah is doing a world of good for these children and they are wholly deserving of an opportunity such as this. It is a start, however it is going to take more then just one person to afford education to those deserving of it. I believe it starts with an initial spark of having an eagerness to . Everyone has an eagerness to learn, but those who display this quality will be the ones who get the extra help they need from a teacher, from a parent, from a friend. It starts with the individual.
Number of sources:By Christopher H Lovelock, Jochen Wirtz: Services Marketing (7th
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