Samantha M
We first met Samantha in Yr 10, she is a very bubbly, sociable and outgoing person. However, we soon found out that it took a long time to develop a strong bond with her.
As someone who always wants to be there for her family and those she cares about, she always puts on a smile and you’re none the wiser. As a high-achiever, she put a lot of pressure on herself and expected the best from herself.
Our approach for Samantha
We started working with Samantha because she needed help with Yr 10 Science and Yr 11 Maths as her grades were not where she wanted them to be. We had a heart-to-heart with both her parents and her, to understand what her goals were and whether she needed to study Yr 11 Maths in Yr 10. Since she wants to become a teacher for which Maths methods is not essential she could still achieve what she wanted while enjoying her studies.
When things get tough or hard to understand, it's understandable that we ignore it or sweep it under the rug. When Samantha was cancelling sessions we knew there was a deeper reason for it. With time and patience we learnt she was avoiding Science because she didn’t understand it, and that it wasn’t being taught to her in the way she could relate to it. We addressed this by helping her enjoy Science by understanding it. No matter how many times we had to explain concepts we knew it would pay off, because once you understand something it looks less daunting and scary and seems more manageable. Eventually... come the end of the year, she excelled in Science and is going to study Chemistry in Yr 11 next year, which we look forward to supporting her with.
We’re immensely proud of how far Samantha has come; from avoiding Science to choosing to do Chemistry in Yr 11. She has come a long way, but our journey together continues. We have more to learn, achieve and grow together.