Roland Martin, Oprah Winfrey, and uniforms

The opening paragraphs from my latest Roland Martin email. He doesn't have the full column posted on his website, but I think I've given you enough below to understand where he's going,

Move over, Bill Cosby, you've got some company.

Oprah Winfrey, who made headlines this week with the opening of her $40 million, all-girls leadership academy in South Africa, is none too happy with how inner-city American kids take for granted an education.

In an interview with Newsweek's Allison Samuels, the billionaire media mogul said she has given millions of dollars to American schools, but has become disenchanted with the materialistic attitude among children.

"Say what you will about the American educational system -- it does work," she told Newsweek. "If you are a child in the United States, you can get an education."

She added: "I became so frustrated with visiting inner-city schools that I just stopped going. The sense that you need to learn just isn't there. If you ask the kids what they want or need, they will say an iPod or some sneakers. In South Africa, they don't ask for money or toys. They ask for uniforms so they can go to school."

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While I understand this position, and am fully aware of the serious shortcomings of the American education system -- especially when you note that many suburban schools, because of high property taxes, look like college campuses, and those attended by mostly black and Hispanic children are falling apart -- Oprah is dead-on in her assessment.

I think Martin and Winfrey should note Chicago Schools are the only ones I know of in Illinois with High School ROTC programs.

You'll see kids in uniforms and I can't say if their less materialistic then others (face it, ROTC is a good deal) but they're certainly learning some Military science and learning the potential for their own sacrifice has to figure in that study. The reality is evident in the news if they're missing it in ROTC.

They might even be joining ROTC from a sense of patriotism and that would really be at odds with the picture Winfrey and Martin paint.

Winfrey's done a lot for Chicago and bringing business to the near West Side. I just wish she would pause a bit before criticizing the kids and parents without mentioning something like school vouchers.

Give parents and kids power to make choices. Watch what they do with those vouchers. Then maybe take some shots at them but I bet lots of people will be surprized at the turn around in our schools.