Michael Oher Nature Vs Nurture

We are all familiar with the nature versus nurture debate and the different factors that must be considered when picking a “side”. In the case of Michael Oher, a young boy growing up in the ghetto of Memphis, Tennessee, it was quite clear which side he needed and benefited from. There is no easy way to pick one or the other when deciding which maters more but for Michael he needed the nurture to grow and remove him from the nature he grew up in. In the case of Michael, nurture was necessary to his overall success and achievements.
Michael Oher was originally born Michael Jerome Williams, Jr and grew up in the Memphis area with 12 other siblings. He never had a stable upbringing, never receiving the nurture a young child needs and deserves while growing up. His mother was an alcoholic and crack cocaine addict so she was never around and when she was she was consistently under the influence of a drug or alcohol. His father was frequently in and out of prison and due to this was never home. With both of Michael’s parents completely uninvolved and absent
Nurture considers the environment and experience that affects a person, “Nurture affects children’s development through multiple channels: physically through nutrition, activity, and stress; intellectually through informal experiences and formal instruction; and socially through adult role models and peer relationships. With good environmental support, children thrive. Unfortunately, the conditions of nurture are not always nurturing. For example, children who grow up in an abusive family must look outside the family for stable, affectionate care” (Ormrod). Unfortunately, Michael was robbed of all of these aspects of nurture and because of this his upbringing was greatly affected. When Michael met Leigh Anne the nurture he was provided took a complete 180, and now he was receiving everything he didn’t during his