I Beat the Odds: From Homelessness, to The Blind Side, and Beyond

Use this activity to engage all types of learners, while requiring that they refer to and incorporate details from the text over the course of the activity.

“Helping Others ‘Beat the Odds’”

In this activity, students will answer Oher’s call to action to change the foster care system in America, creating systemic change through personal responsibility.

Oher’s experience in the foster system included neglect, abuse, and periods of homelessness, and, unfortunately, his story is a common one. In Chapter 20 of I Beat the Odds, Oher gives personal advice to other at-risk youth on how they, too, can “beat the odds,” and in Chapter 21 he provides a list of organizations that help disadvantaged children and teens.

In this activity, you will answer Oher’s call for change by following his guidance in Chapters 20 and 21 to take use initiative to help others in need.

• Re-read Chapter 20 and Chapter 21 of I Beat the Odds. Review these chapters, this time taking special notes on (1) how you might apply Oher’s advice to your own life and (2) organizations that you might want to research in the next step. Identify at least 2 organizations from Oher’s list that you’d like to research so you can get involved further.
• Research, research, research. Starting with their websites, focus on two of the organizations you chose to learn how you might be able to get involved with them to help young people in need. Find out how others contribute to their cause and come up with 3-5 actions that you could realistically take in the next week or so.
• Ask yourself: What can I do? Look at your list of 3-5 actions and decide which ones you’d like to take on. If possible, find at least two actions that you can act upon: One that you can do right away, and another that might take a little longer to implement.

As a class, discuss the organizations that you chose as well as the 3-5 actions that you’re going to take to help youth in need. How did it feel to apply your own sense of responsibility to this problem?

Teaching Suggestion: Recall that some students may be personally affected by issues of poverty, drugs, and/or the foster care system and be sure to approach this conversation and activity with caution. Again, you may want to read the Child Placement Agency’s recommendations on how to have sensitive, open discussions in the classrooms on matters involving foster care in “What School Staff Should Know About Foster Care.”

Use these essay questions as writing and critical thinking exercises for all levels of writers, and to build their literary analysis skills by requiring textual references throughout the essay.

Differentiation Suggestion: For English learners or struggling writers, strategies that work well include graphic organizers, sentence frames or starters, group work, or oral responses.

Scaffolded Essay Questions

Student Prompt: Write a short (1-3 paragraph) response using one of the bulleted outlines below. Cite details from the text over the course of your response that serve as examples and support.

1. Briarcrest Christian School is a former segregation academy that was founded, along with other private schools in Memphis, after a 1971 Supreme Court ruling finally enforced integration in the city’s public schools. In 1979, Pastor W. Wayne Allen, Briarcrest’s founder, was questioned before Congress about why there were no black students enrolled at his school.

• How does Briarcrest’s history as a segregated institution complicate the nature of the generosity Oher received there? (topic sentence)
• How did the academy change over time, from its original mission of segregation to the present day?
• In your conclusion, explore how Briarcrest’s evolution as an organization allowed him to find a strong group of Mentors there.

2. Oher disagreed with the way the film adaptation of The Blind Side portrayed him.

• After watching The Blind Side, what are the primary discrepancies or inaccuracies when compared with I Beat the Odds? (topic sentence)
• Why do you think the film portrayed Oher’s life in this way?
• In your conclusion, explain how the film leaves out one of his core values, which is the importance of Personal Responsibility over one’s life.

3. Oher does not explicitly delve into the racial difference between Oher and the Tuohys, the white family who takes him in in I Beat the Odds.

• Do you think that racism and/or Oher’s Blackness had an impact on how he was treated by the Tuohys? (topic sentence)
• Why do you think that Oher chose to not address the racial difference between himself and the Tuohys in the text?
• In your conclusion, reflect upon how Oher may have experienced direct and/or indirect racism by the Tuohys, but he wanted to maintain the messaging of Personal Responsibility in I Beat the Odds.

Full Essay Assignments

Student Prompt: Write a structured and well-developed essay. Include a thesis statement, at least three main points supported by textual details, and a conclusion.

1. Oher briefly describes the history of Memphis public housing in Chapter 1. When first established, projects were seen as an effective way to provide low-income housing, especially in urban areas. But as time went on, criticisms emerged about this approach to housing, which claimed detrimental effects on the residents. What exactly were these criticisms? How is public housing and its issues being addressed today? Drawing from Oher’s experience in I Beat the Odds, in your conclusion, describe how underfunded and poorly managed public housing create an environment that cultivates At-Risk Youth.

2. At the Ida B. Wells School, Oher changed his outlook about school and about life. What was it about his experience at this school that so greatly affected Oher’s mindset? In your conclusion, think of the types of Mentors that Oher encountered at Ida B. Wells, as well as how the school helped him hone his sense of Personal Responsibility for his own actions. How did taking personal responsibility give Oher a newfound sense of agency?

3. Professional sports provided Oher with a dream and a ticket out of the projects. Thousands of children share this dream of “making it”—but young Oher didn’t just want it, he worked for it. What are the ways in which Oher transformed this desire from a dream into a reality? What steps did he take that relied on his own Initiative to make them happen? In your conclusion, reflect upon the many factors—from Oher’s own sense of Personal Responsibility over his future, but also the support and assistance from various Mentors—that helped Oher turn his fantasy into reality.

Multiple Choice and Long Answer Questions create ideal opportunities for whole-text review, exams, or summative assessments.

Multiple Choice

1. In the Prologue, why does Oher state that he wanted to write I Beat the Odds, considering that his life had already been depicted in two previous books and a movie?

A) In this book, he hopes to expose the American foster care system.

B) He wants to tell the story himself so he can recount details only he knows.

C) He wants to add new insights now that he is older and wiser.

D) The previous books were too short in length to tell the full story.

2. Oher briefly explains the history of public housing in Memphis in Chapter 1, focusing on a notable policy change in the 1970s. What was this policy change?

A) Housing projects became racially integrated.

B) Housing projects put a cap on the number of children permissible in each apartment.

C) Housing projects mandated that pests (roaches, mice) would be immediately dealt with.

D) Housing projects evicted any tenants who were even a single day late in paying their rent.

3. Which of the following best describes Oher’s relationship with his maternal grandmother?

A) Loving—she would do anything for Oher.

B) Cold—she was cruel to Oher and most of his siblings.

C) Absent—she was not present in Oher’s life.

D) Jealous—she envied Oher’s youth.

4. What sort of classes does Velma teach in the evenings, causing Oher and his siblings to stay in daycare until she can pick them up after school?

A) Cooking classes

B) Sewing classes

C) Career coaching

D) GED classes

5. What condition does the hospital staff misdiagnose Oher as having because of his quiet nature?  

A) A speech impediment

B) Bipolar disorder

C) Deafness

D) Anger issues

6. Verlene Logan, Oher’s fourth-grade teacher from Chapter 7, is a figure that is most closely tied to which theme of the book?

A) Personal responsibility and taking initiative

B) The importance of mentors

C) The plight of foster children and at-risk youth

D) The pervasive issue of racism in the classroom

7. At the end of high school, Oher realizes his grades are not high enough to gain admission to a four-year university. What does he plan as an alternative?

A) Learn the trade of carpentry

B) Seek out a local gang

C) Join a local football team

D) Go to community college

8. Why did Steve struggle when he first joined Briarcrest?

A) The other students made fun of him for being poor.

B) The teachers put him in Gateway Academy classes.

C) The school was fast paced and had a higher level of work.

D) The school separated him from his old friends.

9. How does Sean Tuohy make sure that Oher has enough food to eat during the day? 

A) He had Leigh Anne prepare lunches for Oher.

B) He created a prepaid lunch account for Oher in the cafeteria.

C) He had a local diner deliver a baloney sandwich to him every afternoon.

D) He had the cafeteria chef set aside leftovers for him each day.

10. As he describes in Chapter 13, which qualities are most important in Oher’s position of offensive lineman?

A) Being over a certain height in order to provide a large target

B) Being speedy on your feet in order to evade rushers

C) Being incredibly conditioned in order to run long distances

D) Being aware of the opposition in order to make last-minute adjustments

11. What skill does Miss Sue teach Oher to help him better absorb written material?

A) To underline words/phrases that are key ideas

B) To always have a dictionary on hand to look up words he doesn’t know

C) To use highlighters to tease out the main ideas in each chapter

D) To read aloud to better absorb the material

12. After high school, Oher spent some time completing an online program at which university to help improve his GPA?

A) University of Arkansas

B) Brigham Young University

C) Georgia Tech

D) Virginia State University

13. Which hypothesis did certain NFL commentators give for why Oher would not have the same drive he did before his adoption by the Tuohys?

A) The Tuohys were wealthy, and Oher no longer needed the money and fame from football.

B) The Tuohys were Christian and wanted him to be more religious.

C) The Tuohys were skeptical of the NFL and urged him to reconsider playing basketball professionally.

D) The Tuohys would provide love and support that he’d never had before, which might distract him from football.

14. In which newspaper did Michael Lewis publish an article about Oher before writing The Blind Side?

A) The New York Times

B) The Washington Post

C) The Atlantic

D) Mother Jones

15. Why was Oher perplexed when he learned that viewers of the film cried at the end of The Blind Side?

A) He didn’t think anyone would care about his story.

B) He thought they would be happy to see his success.

C) He did not realize people cried at movies about football.

D) He thought that racism would prevent most people from having empathy for him.

Long Answer

Compose a response of 2-3 sentences, incorporating textual details to support your response.

1. In the book’s Prologue, Oher feels a childlike nervousness when reuniting with his former caseworker from Child Protective Services. Why is this a telling detail? What does it say about Oher’s personal experience and his experience of foster care as a whole?

2. In Chapter 20, Oher gives personal advice directed to kids who might be in similar circumstances to his younger self. What does he advise specifically about biological family?