Tiny Virginia Makopo, 27, was charged with 13 counts of abusing and assaulting students at Oprah’s school for disadvantaged girls, which is located outside of Johannesburg.

Makopo pleaded not guilty and was released today on bail. Makopo, who was a matron at the school, faces charges of assault, indecent assault, and crimen injuria, which involves verbal abuse which violates the victim's dignity. Authorities alleges there were seven victims. Six are between the ages of 13 and 14 and one was 23.

Sounds like heads are going to role at the school. Oprah said the head mistress' contract will not be renewed. She also indicated that there will be restructuring at the school.

As you may remember, Oprah came under fire for opening the $40 million school in January. Some questioned the amount of money she spent on foreign children when the state of education in United States is in such shambles. (I do not necessarily share these views. I’m just giving you a little history, folks.)

I actually feel really bad for Oprah. The talk show host has been open about the abuse that she suffered as a child. It must really sting that the school she opened has now been affected by abuse. 

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 Did any of you watch the reality TV show last night? For those who didn’t, here’s a recap from my friend Sarah Kickler Kelber, who runs The Sun blog Reality Check.

What did you think of the show? It was almost like Survivor, Deadwood, and Degrassi: The Next Generation, morphed…

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Kid Nation premiers tonight at 8 p.m. on CBS.

Weigh in tomorrow with your impressions of the first episode. I can't wait to hear your take on the child abuse accusations!

Oh yeah, scroll down on this page to check out the show's video promo.

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It’s TV time folks, and many of the Fall shows will be unveiled in the coming weeks.

One that has already generated a lot of controversy is Kid Nation, which will debut Wednesday on CBS at 8 p.m.

The show features 40 kids, ages 8 to 15, who have the cameras turned on them as they live -- by themselves -- in an abandoned mining town in New Mexico for 40 days.

Throughout the course of the show, the kids form their own government, cook their own food, and essentially rule themselves. Typical of reality television, the kids participate in challenges in order to receive special powers and privileges on the show. At the end of each episode, one kid will win a Gold Star worth $20,000.

It has been reported that participants were paid $5,000 to be on the show.

Even though the show will air this week, some critics have already called the show abusive. Others have criticized parents for allowing their children to appear on the show.

I’m not sure what to think about the show. I’ve seen the previews. Sure there are plenty of clips of kids crying, but my first reaction is not child abuse. Kids cry.

Personally, I don’t see how the show is all that different from Bug Juice on Disney, or Boys Vs. Girls on The N. All of these shows exploit participants. But isn’t that one of the prerequisites of “reality television”?

What do you think about the “Kid Nation” controversy? Would you allow your child to participate on the show? Are the participants of “Kid Nation” being exploited?

Posted by John-John Williams IV at 7:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)