After all, education is not about filling up an empty head with goodies, since a human is “a mine rich in gems of inestimable value". When seen as such, it's only logical that "education can, alone, cause (a human) to reveal its treasures, and enable mankind to benefit there from.” As recent education reform after education reform in Canada has shown, learning is about bringing out inherent talents in children rather than filling them up with information. If we have gotten this far in our understanding of educating children, why are we having troubles as adults who continue learning through their entire lives through outlets such as Oprah?
Perhaps part of the problem is that while Oprah and Co. have put a lot of effort in developing content, they haven’t spent as much time tackling the issue of its delivery. During her year of Living Oprah, Robyn Okrant acted as an empty vessel that needed to be filled with Oprah juice. While she herself admits that she did learn some important things (including a new appreciate for leopard-print flats), this learning came at a price. Oprah’s program, which is meant to empower women, made her feel more insecure in her mid-30s than she did as a teen.
Isn't it ironic, don't you think?
But we can't blame Oprah for a phenomenon that is societal. After all, all fashion magazines tend to tell women that they are not thin enough, that their hair isn't shiny enough, that their skin isn't clear enough — in short, that we are not woman enough. In a sea of demotivating messages that make so many women loathe themselves, O magazine is quite unique in its approach. By the same token, Oprah's show has been a unique source of a variety of information that has definitely helped women in North America.
But it seems that perhaps Oprah has just become too big, too much of a brand name, to be able to empower women by her example alone as she used to. Robyn Okrant reflects on this topic, pointing out that while for her, cleaning up her physical space to enable her to clear out her mental space means two days of cleaning and tidying, for Oprah, it means only one thing: hiring a house cleaner.
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