Cheryl Cole - person who has made the most positive impact in the world today?

[NorhamGardens]

My Sister's very gifted 14 year old daughter was asked to pick the a person to do a project on. The emphasis was on choosing someone who had overcome huge odds to make a positive impact on the world today or similar. Person that deserves huge admiration and respect, that sort of thing. Deserves to be a national icon and so on.

Three quarters of my niece's class chose Cheryl Cole. No Nelson Mandela? No Mother Theresa?

I questioned her. She explained that it would have been all to easy for Cheryl to descend into drugs like others on her Estate. She has huge talent and gifts - a great dancer who studied at the Royal Ballet School and stayed despite teasing and bullying. (A quick google showed she did a summer camp or similar and didn't pursue in part due to bullying/teasing).

I am noticing that my niece and her generation appear to value 'prettiness' above all else and that is really why they admire Cheryl in the main. That and thinking she's cool. Let's face it if she was plug ugly it's very likely she would never have gone as far as she has.

AIBU to think that it's pretty shocking they didn't think to choose someone else? AIBU to hope that so many didn't tie up their self worth with their 'attractiveness'. (A look at their Facebook accounts would make you weep? Or is it all about being a teenager and Cheryl is to be admired in this way? She's cool, she's down to earth, beautiful and talented etc..Maybe I am the old fart here ?

She inspired me to have really shiny hair!

YANBU - its utterly depressing.

How depressing. YANBU.

not to mention she's a thug

(I'm on a one woman mission to make sure the world doesn't forget)

I think recently, with the dumping of Ashley Cole after his public cheating, she ha made a positive impact. How many celebs just stand grinning gormlessly at their love rats side? Reinforcing that it is okay for men to cheat.

She has not made the most positive impact in the world though. Dd1 also admires her because of her looks

This is what kids aspire to though. It's sad, and it's getting worse - when I was little I wanted to be an astronaut aged about 8 - you ask the average class of 8 year olds these days and I'd guess 90% of them will want to be Cheryl Cole or Wayne Rooney. That's ALL they see as worthwhile - looking pretty and having shiny things.

I can't understand idolizing her - she's stunningly beautiful yes, but then again, look at anyone's wedding photos and you'll see we can ALL be stunningly beautiful if we spend three hours getting ready and have a team of stylists!

We've reduced success in this country to winning the X-Factor's Got Pop Talent Big Brother, to not having cellulite aged 30 and to getting back into your pre-baby jeans within a week. While it's the paper I read, the Daily Wail is particularly guilty of this - go onto any of their online celeb articles and see the utterly vile comments the readers make if anyone dares gain 1lb of weight.

We were on holiday last month and there were some teenage girls in the pool near us. They were doing a quiz thing about people. Every day.

In three days they did not name one person who was anything other than a tv celebrity.
It was hilarious and depressing.

'he is GC. He is an actor and a model. He is very old but some people like him. His name sounds like looney'

I kept looking at DS1 who was equally . He said that whereever the differences arrise all of his friends would at the very very least have athletes and politicians and some public figures like Richard Branson.

But no. Three days - the members of Girls aloud, the members of the saturdays, the winners of big brother, contestants on britains got talent, wags......

Seriously

YANBU. Though I'd be just as disappointed that the teacher didn't try and inspire them better, especially if so many children were all doing the same person. Doesn't she/he want a variety of projects to mark? And there are so many peopele better deserving. I mean, for goodness sake, even if they haven't heard of Nelson Mandela by that point, what about sportspersons - at least they do something. Hell, I bet David Beckham has had more of a positive impact on the world. At least he's inspred children to play sports.

Stealth - you are not alone in reminding the world that she is a thug. I always mention it when people say her name!

a two woman mission
Actually I think UQD does too
a two woman and a man mission

I too share your mission stealth , a racist thug at that.

It's an excellent school too, with a great reputation too!

I was saying earlier that some unflattering tabloid shots of the legend that is Kylie have appeared today. She has - gasp - dared to look, whisper 42, her actual age and has gone out in public without make-up! I was sent a link and some of the comments and vitriol aimed at her are absolutely shocking.

Women do get old, it's called the ageing process, why are we not getting closer to accepting the wisdom that the middle years can bring?

I suppose all the teachers admire Cheryl Cole too. Agree with the others. She is a thuggish, racist little yobette.

Sorry Floopy X-posted

"We've reduced success in this country to winning the X-Factor's Got Pop Talent Big Brother" (emptyshell) - I think that was part of the New Labour project, avowedly so in Gordon Brown's adoration for X Factor and Britain's Got Talent. Give the working class something to aspire to. Certainly keeps their minds off revolution.

To Stealth - I have always wondered why the Cheryl 'alleged racist incident in the loo' and her throwing a punch was forgotten so fast?

When I compare it to Jade, who made racist comments to Shilpa Shetty and the public condemnation she received it's interesting. I have often thought that Jade simply found Shilpa a bit princessy and annoying (perhaps with some grounds) but wasn't articulate enough to put this across in the way others would? So her remarks were taken as being racist. She used the language she knew to describe what she found irritating about Shilpa's princessy behaviour (I realise Jade's words were racist but do you see what I am driving at)?

I am afraid it may be in part be due to Cheryl's beauty. Someone once said to me people love to worship beauty, and more generally, and I think it may be true.

Surely as a society we should be evolving and moving forward? Valuing wisdom and noble thought and deed not beauty and fame?

Never mind. When the feminist revival gets going they will all see the error of their ways.

Very depressing, we seem so easily pleased these days by vaccuous 'beauty' rather than anyone of substance, so she's a singer, so what, there are wonderful, brave, women everywhere working incredibly hard at their lives in difficult circumstances and making a difference to others in a much more meaningful way than fashion and hair, FFS. Women who are beautiful on the inside. Hating this celebrity culture which is rammed down everyone's throats and which our kids buy into.

YANBU and I agree about Cheryl Cole being a thug. What good has she done the world? She sits and sheds a tear judging x factor. Big whoopee.

BTW my DP always goes off on one when he sees Cheryl Cole - he says she's not pretty. He says she looks 'bearable' with all her makeup and that without it noone would ever give her a second glance.

princess cheryl is a big haired criminal.not to be admired at all.rotten voice too

but adults and adolescent will pick different role models. we have more chronological years and exposure to different things than them. so naturally emphasis given and choice will be different. have heard the same argument applied to kate price eg working woman, successful business.but dont think kate is a great example of whom to attribute admiration to

but tbh i wouldn't expect 14yo to pick mother teresa.

i do think naturally they chose from their own mileu and what exposed to

I despair about this country's (ok the western world tbh) obsession with looks and money these days. With these things being the main object of media coverage the majority of the time what hope do our children have?

I have a 5 y/o dd and I dread her getting older, so far she couldn't give a sod about how she looks (except she does like shoes lol) and I want it to stay that way for as long as possible.

I find the whole celebrity culture completely vacuuous and empty and I am not interested in any of these supposedly "amazing" pop star/actress women. Don't even start me on wags!

Yes it is great to make the most of yourself, but being pretty and well off is not the be all and end all (I should know lol, I'm not either) and I hope that I can guide my dd into healthier pursuits as she gets older.

Beautiful people get shorter sentences for the same crime, apparently, so the Jade/Cheryl comparison is very apt.

Racist ??!! Her husbands black ffs !

Rocklover it's not just the western world's obession, I've taught in Asia it's prevalent there, and growing.

"Is a thug"? How about "was convicted of assault occasioning actual bodily harm in 2003?" It's not like she has a long track record of assaults and thuggish behaviour. And as for racist, she was acquitted of racial assault. And she married Ashley Cole, fgs!

The behaviour was deplorable, for sure, but I see no point in condemning her for all time as a "thug" because of it.

Finally, she has reverted to her original surname, Tweedy, following her divorce.