Adoption
Tony Henderson took his son and Michael Oher to apply for admission to a private school, Briarcrest Christian School. Oher was staying with Mr. Henderson temporarily. The school coach was interested in Oher, but the school’s administrator did not think him educationally capable. He did get admitted through a home-study program.
According to the movie based on the book by Michael Lewis, Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy had a son and daughter attending Briarcrest. Oher moved in with the Tuohys and got him a tutor. The tutor worked with him approximately 20 hours a week. Michael’s grade point average went from 0.6 to 2.52.
After receiving scholarship offers from the University of Tennessee, Louisiana State University, the University of Alabama, and the University of South Carolina, among others, Oher ultimately decided to attend the University of Mississippi, the alma mater of Leigh Anne and Sean Tuohy.
Adoption in the United States still occurs at nearly three times those of its peers although the number of children awaiting adoption has held steady in recent years, hovering between 133,000 to 129,000 during the period 2002 to 2006, according to U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, U.S. Trends in Foster Care and Adoption. Many people open to adoption want infants, and are willing to go outside the United States to adopt. Like Michael, there are many older children in need of a home. Given an opportunity, many of the children could have an abundant fruitful future.