Jack's Story, Glasgow

Making the Connection made all the difference

Jack’s dad contacted me in September 2016; his son had just started fourth year and was struggling with Biology. He had enjoyed the subject at the start of secondary school but had fallen out of love with it during the previous year, resulting in a fail in his third-year exam. I was happy to take him on as a pupil and looked forward to meeting him for our first session.

“I hate biology and want to drop it as soon as I can. Please can you help me get a C?”

Jack was blunt! He said he was terrible at the subject and wanted a pass in his National 5 so that his parents would let him drop it. As I always do, I asked him what his goal was, to which he replied,“a low C”. In my experience, most pupils say an A or a B, so this was quite surprising. He was clearly capable of doing well but had given up and was not wanting persuaded to change his mind at this point.

Jack had a love of hockey, skiing and the out of doors; we had a lot in common! I managed to incorporate his interests into every session and slowly I saw his enthusiasm for Biology increase, as did his engagement. It was as if he had suddenly been given a reason to be interested; there was now a ‘point’ to the subject. He had started with a quiet, some would say sullen demeaner, but he was beginning to open up, ask questions and enjoy the sessions. When we began doing past paperwork, his marks quickly improved until he asked me if he could change his goal of a C to an A! I was so delighted to see his determination grow and his dad told me that his teacher was noticing it too! In fact, he had asked to be moved away from his friends in class so that he could concentrate better. He was answering in class and helping other pupils relate the facts they were learning to their own lives.

Strategies don’t always work, but this one did, and we continued to talk about the subject in terms of sport or nature; soon he was telling me the connections. We joked about him taking over my job and working with all my pupils! He managed to quickly alter questions in his mind to make them more relatable and then answered them using a similar method. He wrote his notes with sport or wildlife drawings in the margins to make associations and he said that it was as if the subject had, “come alive.” In all honesty, I do this whenever possible with all my pupils, but Jack really appreciated being given the link in a way that sparked his imagination, and it was as if a switch had been flicked.

Not only did Jack get an A for his National 5 Biology, he decided to move on to the Higher Human Biology course and I was once again asked if I could support him. I was delighted of course and by this time, we had built up a very good working relationship in which sessions were upbeat, animated and a world away from how it had started the previous year. This time, Jack told me that his goal was to achieve an A in Higher, and he was considering a career as a Physiotherapist! Gone was the defeatist Jack and here to stay was the driven, achieving Jack was! In fact, the same was being seen in all his subjects. Jack worked very hard for his Higher and once again in Biology, he achieved an A.

Having said goodbye to this transformed youngster, I was delighted to hear from Jack again in September 2018 to say that he was now doing Advanced Higher as he hadn’t been enjoying school any more without Biology! I was asked to tutor him again, and he worked incredibly hard at the theory while absolutely loving the practical side of the course. I taught him the scientific skills required for his project and he spent months on a very interesting piece of work relating to his aspiration of becoming a physiotherapist. Jack gained a high B in his Advanced Higher, outstanding considering he entered the course late.

I never forget any of my pupils, and Jack will always stick in my mind as a reminder not ever to give up on a pupil who says they “hate” a subject. I am so encouraged by his change in focus and enjoyment (or lack of at the start) of Biology. Teenagers find subjects very difficult when they can’t find a link to their own experiences of life. If we can find that link and encourage them to see it, it can truly make all the difference.

Jack is excelling in a Physiotherapist course and dreams of working with teenagers in sport! I have no doubt that he will achieve his goal.