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

Research the foster care system where you live (be it at the city/town or county level) and interview someone who works there. Try to get a sense of the system’s strengths and weaknesses. Where does it succeed? Where does it fall short? What changes would you recommend to improve it?

Watch The Blind Side and compare its depiction of Michael Oher’s story to what you read in I Beat the Odds, noting any discrepancies or inaccuracies. Why do you think the film portrayed Oher’s life this way?

Oher writes that people were good to him at Briarcrest Christian School, and it helped pave the way for his success. However, Briarcrest began in 1973 as a segregation academy. What does this mean and how did the academy change over time? Trace the transformation of its original mission and student body to those of today.