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The increasing trend of big giving among those who can well afford to give and put loads of cash into social improvement as well as "money where their mouth is" is encouraging. The fact that a good deal of the money has been earmarked and dedicated to bettering public education not only speaks to the need for the shift in focus to public education as a giving piority in our country,but an area in need of care and attention.. The timing coincides remarkably with the release of the movie documentary "Waiting for Superman" ,which is an expose on the state of our public schools by Guggenheim, the director of the award-winning "Inconvenient Truth" as well as "The Social Network" a movie about Facebook,its founders,including Mark Zuckerberg and how it came to be.
Oprah's recent gift of 6 million to Chicago area schools is one act in a long list of humanitarian giving which has been a signature of the trailblazing and award-winning talk shoe host since she came to prominence some 25 years ago. She definitely started the trend of generosity among talk show hosts on television,especially with her car giveaway episode and countless others where the audience was generously provided goods and promotional giveaways. Zuckerberg is a new arrival in the billionaire category. Founder of the social network Facebook, the buzz is that the movie paints him in an unflattering manner. The 100 million dollar gift is a welcome and hopeful sight to those in the New Jersey schools system. At he same time, it has raised questions about whether his gift is being given as a strategem for deflecting the portrayal of his character in the film.
The gifts by Oprah and Zuckerberg are without question generous. My prayer is that the schools will measurably improve as a result of the gifts. I would also add to the prayer that the money be wisely distributed. Money is definitely a solution to a multitude of problems. It can solve lack of supplies, inadequate buildings and lack of quality pay and qualified teaching personnel. I ask that the money donated be used to increase the pay and benefits for teachers as well.
There is also a value in strong and effective parental and community involvement.Giving money is a substantial step in the right direction. However, the money won't be of any value if there is no care or concern about how to assure that the students and teachers get the most out of it.
By the way, I don't think to much energy should be put into the question about Zuckerberg's motives i.e., whether his huge gift is nothing more than a good PR move to counter the negative portrayal of his character in the movie. His donation has the potential to help a good deal of students get a decent education. That is where the focus should be placed.
Kudos to Oprah and Zuckerberg. He is scheduled as a guest on the Oprah show today and will be making his official announcement then.
