The movie Blind Side is inspiring and amazing. Sandra Bullock plays Leah Anne, the matriarch of the wealthy Memphis family who adopted Michael Oher as an offensive tackle for the Baltimore Ravens football team. Michael was two years behind in elementary school and had a spotty educational history with a 0.6 GPA in high school. Michael was born into a family of 12 children and spent most of his life under the guardianship of the state of Tennessee.
His biological mother described Michael as a runner, who when he was in foster care when placed with families, would run away trying to find his way back to his mother. In the movie Blind Side, Michael is taken in by Leah Anne and her family. They give you love, care, and the opportunity to be successful. And it was successful. With the help of a tutor, he was able to increase his GPA from 0.6 to 2.56 and with continued support through tutoring, he received a college degree before becoming a professional soccer player. While the film hinted at the importance of religion to Leigh Anne, the extent of her faith’s importance was not entirely apparent.
Leigh Anne and her husband started a church in Memphis. This fact is not mentioned in the film, but the importance of faith to Leigh Anne is hinted at, leading me to believe that Michael was exposed to a religious community and was involved in church attendance and church activities with the family. I mention this because I want to emphasize the importance of the participation of families for the development of their children. Religious organizations provide enormous benefits to the family for their participation, support and growth. Studies reporting on substance use such as tobacco, alcohol, and drugs have shown that children who have attended religious services are less likely to experiment with substances. Studies have also shown that the more services a child attends, the less likely they are to experiment with substances. In addition to the fact that religion is positive for reducing drug use, religious organization provides opportunities for children to develop social skills to improve relationships with their peers. They also provide a sense of belonging for the child and the family. Religious communities also provide opportunities to understand, celebrate, and mourn the events of life.
In one scene from the movie, Michael and PJ were on the soccer field getting ready to exercise. Michael wanted to go home and play video games. PJ informed Michael that Michael was expected not only to play soccer, but to strive for excellence. That everyone in the family has played sports or participated in some activity, the father played basketball, the sister did athletics and played volleyball, the mother had been a cheerleader, and that he (PJ) practiced all sports. While not all children may grow up to be a Michael, other sports and other social activities are critical to child development. I think another lesson to be learned from Blind Side is the fact that the family not only encouraged Michael to play sports, they were supportive of him. The family supported him during practice and were at the games to support him.
Children need their efforts to be recognized and validated – not just those of the world’s Michael Oher, but children who put the game on the sidelines need to know that their family cares enough to come forward. There are other social activities that are beneficial to children, such as boy scouts, girl scouts, and explorer scouts, to name a few. The important thing is that you involve your child in activities using community social groups; community sports organizations, or sports and social groups through the child’s school. The more involved you are as a parent, the better, it sends a message to the child that you support them and that they are important.
The movie Blind Side teaches us the lesson that getting involved in your child’s school is important. There are several scenes where Leigh Anne talks to the school staff and teachers about Michael. This is what we call the link between school and home. Research has found that the greater the link between home and school, the better the child’s performance in school. This includes school attendance. There are schools that have programs that allow parents to come to school and have lunch with their child if their child’s school has a take advantage and have lunch with their child program. Don’t wait until your child brings home his report card to find out how he is doing, call or come by and talk to his teacher. Leigh Anne did exactly that in one scene, she spoke to Michael’s English teacher and asked what Michael had to do in order to pass his class and the teacher told her what Michael had to do. Michael did exactly what the teacher told Leigh Anne to do and passed the class.
In the movie Blind Side, Michael had a private tutor to help him with his schoolwork, not only in high school, but also in college. While we cannot all afford to hire private tutors for our children, we can sit down and help them with their homework. If we find that we cannot help our children with their homework, we can ask for help at school. There are schools that have peer tutoring, some schools have after school tutoring programs, there may be a tutoring program at a local church, community college or university that has students going to school to be teachers who can tutor. There are community organizations that provide tutoring, such as Boys and Girls Club. If you are having trouble finding resources or opportunities for your child, other parents are likely having the same problem. Network. Set up your own tutoring group with the help of your parents or your child’s peers. Start a learning group of 3-4 children and get help from the teacher to help you with the study material. Parents can even divide subjects and each take responsibility for a subject and lead their child’s study group. Be creative.
As in all things in life, the more positive time and energy you invest in your child, the greater the reward. Get your child involved in social, community, and school activities, get involved with your child, and be supportive and available. Take an active interest in your child’s school work; Find out what resources are available to help your child learn. Talk to your child’s teacher regularly, not just at parent-teacher conferences. Help your child with his homework. Show your children that their homework and activities are important and a priority. Don’t use sports, community activities, or religious activities as a reward or consequence for behaviors. Participation in activities are opportunities for growth, and the more involved your child is in these activities, the less likely it is that your child will be tempted to experiment with drugs, tobacco, and alcohol or to engage in criminal behavior. These are the parenting lessons learned from the movie Blind Side.