Out Of The Ordinary

 It is rare for anyone from a poor upbringing to grow up and make it big.  In a way to make it big they have to break the glass barrier.  The glass barrier is any barrier that stops someone from achieving what he or she want to, often time it is completely unseen just felt.  Two successful African Americans who broke their own glass barrier are Michael Oher and Lebron James.  

Michael Oher’s incredible story was recently made into the uplifting movie “The Blindside” starring Sandra Bullock and Tim McGraw.  Michael was born to a father who was in jail for most of his life and a mother addicted to cocaine.  He struggled with school growing up; finally transferring to a private Christen school with the help of the man he was staying with at the time.  White at this school he meets the Touy family who takes him in and eventually adopts him.  They hire a tutor who helps him raise his grades enough to receive a scholarship to the University of Mississippi, which was the alma mater of both his adoptive parents.  After playing college football he went on to play in the NFL for the Baltimore Ravens, where he still plays to this day.  It is amazing that Michael was able to come from the home and the family situation that he did and become as successful as he is today.

Michael Oher

Lebron James was born December 30, 1984 to his sixteen-year-old mother.  His mother constantly struggled with finding steady work when he was younger.  They were always moving to different apartments and eventually landed in Akron in one of the seedier neighborhoods.  Lebron showed incredible talent at a young age in football and basketball.  Lebron ended up dropping out of school in the fourth grade.  When his Pee Wee football coach Frankie Walker found out, he invited Lebron to move into his home.  Lebron flourished in the stable environment that the Walkers provided him, including his school.  He went on to be the number 1 NBA draft pick in 2003 at the age of just 18.  He also signed a show contract with Nike before his professional debut.  He is still considered one of the most successful NBA stars, and is often compared to the great Michael Jordan. 

Both of these stories show that it is possible to break the glass barrier.  It can help be an inspiration to children that regardless of their home life and their surroundings that they can become what they want.  However I think it is interesting that both Michael and Lebron has to use assimilation before they made it.  They had to give up their culture and what they had known to adopt a different life so they could make it.  Once they assimilated they were extremely successful.  The power of their stories lies in where they were and where they are now.  As a teacher it is important for me to remember that all my students have the potential to be great, regardless of where they come from.  All they truly need is one person on their team.       

Information gathered from Wikipedia (Lebron, James; Michael, Oher)

Information gather from movie "The Blindslide"

Image of Michael Oher obtained from togetherforadoption.org

Image of Lebron James obtained from thefastertimes.com