From Rags to Riches (A Think)

I was looking for a newspaper article to discuss this morning and started reading the New York Time's magazine from yesterday. There was an article about a poor inner city black boy, Michael Oher, who was homeless, parentless, and uneducated. The boy, of high school age, had the physical stature of a future NFL star. A religious Catholic school took a shot on admitting this boy. Then a wealthy white family adopted the boy as their own. They helped him get the grades he needed to play football in the NCAA. It was a long article. But, once I started I couldn't put it down. The article states:

What happened next was the strangest encounter of Lemming’s 28-year career as a football scout. Michael Oher sat down at the table across from him. . .and refused to speak. “He shook my hand and then didn’t say a word,” Lemming recalled. (“His hands — they were huge!”) Lemming asked a few questions; Michael Oher just kept staring right through him. And soon enough Lemming decided further interaction was pointless. Michael Oher left, and he left behind blank forms and unanswered questions. Every other high-school football player in America was dying for Lemming to invite him to play in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl. Michael Oher had left his invitation on the table.
What never crossed Tom Lemming’s mind was that the player he would soon rank the No. 1 offensive lineman in the nation, and perhaps the finest left-tackle prospect since Orlando Pace, hadn’t the faintest notion of who Lemming was or why he was asking him all these questions. For that matter, he didn’t even think of himself as a football player. And he had never played left tackle in his life.

Lesson Ideas:
1. You might ask students to read this article and summarize it. Many students don't enjoy reading much of what they are asked to read in a high school literature class. But this article is , in part, about football. Ask students to identify the "heroes" of the story and explain what made them heroic.
2. Tell students to imagine that they are Mr. and Mrs. Tuohy, the couple that took Michael in. Ask them to write a script for a conversation that might have taken place between these two people as they thought about letting Michael stay in their home. You might divide students up into pairs and have them work on these scripts together. It might even be fun to make the pairs boy-girl. Note, if you are teaching younger students you might simply invite them to write a script for a couple considering letting a poor child live with them. (In such a case your students wouldn't have to read the article.)
3. The article explains that Michael and Sean Jr. became very good friends, playing video games together. Tell students to create a skit of a conversation that might have taken place between Michael, who was about six years older than Sean Jr. , and Sean Jr. If you have the capability you might invite students to act out the skit and vodcast it.
4. Ask students what they think motivated Mr. and Mrs. Tuohy. The NCAA accused them of wanting Michael to play for their alma mater. Could a couple do something as nice as the Tuohy's did for purely altruistic reasons? You might ask students to blog on this question. (Personally, I would hope that students recognize that people can do very nice things for altruistic reasons.)
5. This magazine artice essentially tells the story of somebody who went from rags to riches because of the behavior of a wealthy family. Students have likely seen or heard of stories in which people have really helped others. Perhaps somebody really helped them or they've truly helped others. Ask students to write their own newspaper article about such a case.

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