I Passed and Failed Grade 10 Science Simultaneously

Yup, it is possible. And I learned more than if I just failed. 

I found science class interesting. I really did. And I thought I understood it. Until I got my tests back. Apparently I didn’t.

This phenomenon began when I was in Mr. Reoch’s class my first year of small town High School at Listowel District Secondary School, Ontario. This compassionate teacher let me rewrite every-single-test a second time to result in a passing grade. And it’s not like I didn’t study. I studied for the initial test and then I studied all my mistakes again to pass the rewrite test. Mr. Reoch was ahead of his time in education. He recognized that it didn’t matter how many times I wrote the test; what mattered was that I mastered the content and concepts in the end. The second compassionate person in the class was my lab partner, Herbie Wong (who is now Dr. Herb Wong). He patiently re-explained many concepts to me and made the experiments fun. The first unit was a fascinating introduction to Physics. We rubbed some kind of wand on fur and witnessed electricity. I remember learning about positive and negative electrodes. When you put two positives or two negatives together, they repel. However, if you put a positive and negative electron with each other they attract! That is the concept I used to pass Science in the next grade. I found a way to fail the course (negative) and yet be awarded the credit (positive)!

While my Grade 10 teacher Mr. Pauly was a great Science teacher too, he did not entertain the idea of writing a test multiple times. This time was different from my Grade 9 experience. I did not fail EVERY test, just a lot of them, so I was moseying along thinking I was destined to earn the credit UNTIL near the exam period, Mr. Pauly gave us each an update on our cumulative marks and I was under 50%! I was shocked! I had no idea the situation was that dire. And it was too late (mathematically speaking) to raise my mark enough to make a difference. Or maybe… the very next day I was listening to the homeroom student announcements on the PA that occurred after “God Save the Queen”, the “Lord’s Prayer” and “Oh Canada” (yep, I was in a Public School and we did all three everyday). A Science Fair was being organized and all members of the student body were invited to participate by submitting an entry. The idea germinated in my mind. The more I thought about it, the more I realized that the Science Fair could be my saving grace.

I ran straight to Mr. Pauly with my idea, not caring if I was late for my next class.
“Mr. Pauly, if I win the science fair can I get my science credit?” I asked the question with such enthusiasm, he would surely say yes, I thought.
“Kelly, you do realize that it is open to the whole school and there will be a lot of people entering?” I figure it was his kind way of saying, there was no way in hell I was capable of winning. And admittedly the odds were against me, but I really wanted to try.
“Yeah, I know but there is no harm in trying,” I tugged.
With a chuckle he replied, “Yes, of course. If you win the Science Fair, I will give you your credit.”

I skipped off to my next class (one of the easy ones like English, Geography, or Art), feeling like I had already won. I won because I thought of the idea. I won because Mr. Pauly said yes. I won because I actually wanted to participate in the fair. I won because it would be fun. Oh, the high of victory! 

Then that night at supper, the low of defeat. I couldn’t think of a single topic to study and create an experiment for the Science Fair. After listening patiently to my parent’s grown up supper talk, I brought forth my conundrum to the family forum for help. Afraid to admit to my parents that I was failing science, I simply stated that I wanted to enter the Science Fair and I needed help to think of a topic. My brother heard that you can put a nail in a Coke bottle and watch it rust to show how bad too much pop is for your system. Naw. It had been done before. My other brother said his friend made a volcano with paper mache and then used something like baking soda to cause an eruption. No. That one has been done to death. I needed something novel. Something new. Something never been done before. I announced that I needed to win. 

“Win!” my quiet, unassuming Mother repeated. “Don’t you think you should just value the learning that will take place as a result of participating?” 

She was probably right but I needed to capture my Dad’s attention. Competition was his territory and I needed more ideas. And besides, couldn’t I value the learning AND win at the same time? 

That’s when Dad stepped up. 
“What if we x-rayed bean plants?” Dad was head of the Radiology Department at the local Hospital.

THAT WAS IT! I knew it in my heart. My brain was popping with ideas.

“Yeessss, Dad! We could radiate a bunch of bean seeds at different levels of radiation”.
“We could do that and, by the way, radiation is measured in roentgens”.

I could hardly sleep that night, I was so excited to meet Dad at the hospital when he finished work at 5:00 the next day. When school was out at 4:00 pm, I was supposed to walk to the local Co-Op (never heard of a co-op? Keep reading until you hit the addendum at the end of this tale) and purchase bean seeds. The man at the Co-op put my selected seeds into a brown paper bag and rolled the top like we rolled our bagged lunches. Then I walked to the hospital to meet Dad. We zapped each handful of beans with different levels of roentgens and left one handful free of radiation. Next I rushed home and carefully planted each seed group in separate containers. I placed them all in the window sill to ensure lots of light. I carefully watered the plants in simultaneous intervals using the same amount of water each time. I knew enough to minimize the variables. 

Heather and I growing up

In the meantime, my good friend, Heather MacDonald approached me saying she wanted to enter the Science Fair and did I want to be her partner? Heather MacDonald who was so smart! Heather MacDonald who always got As! Heather who was very good at Art as well as Science! She would be the yin to my yang to cinch this thing. Only one problem. There was no way I was compromising on the topic. I had started growing my beans and was stuck on the idea. I cautiously communicated that I would love to be her partner but only if she did my idea. At 15, one has to be very careful not to be in the outs of her peer group by pissing anyone off. Without flinching, she agreed and we were set! 

Heather and I purchased the display supplies which included poster paper, construction paper, the newly invented glue stick and Bic Markers at Stedmans (Never heard of Stedmans? Again, keep reading to the Addendum!). I have to admit, I basically dictated and Heather created. Her printing was so much more tidy than mine and her eye for design made the posters for our display so eye-catching. 

Heather’s mother, Betty, owned a type-writer so we were able to type out the stages of our “scientific method” looking so polished and published for the computer-absent 1983 standards. Purpose: Will different levels of radiation affect the growth of bean plants? Research: Luckily, mom and dad had purchased a set of Encyclopedias from the door to door salesman (never heard of an Encyclopedia???? Geez. Check the addendum, AGAIN). Experiment: Zap bean seeds with increasing levels of roentgens, leaving one pot as a control group. Data/Analysis: I stared at those babies in my bedroom window every day, watching for abnormalities and speed of growth. I wrote every observation down in my Hillier notebook (Say no more. Addendum). Conclusion: They are affected! Yes! Yes! Yes! The beans with the most radiation didn’t even sprout. Others did but with inappropriate speeds. Some leaves were deformed. Some took too long to drop their seed coat.

The day of the science fair arrived. Heather and I were on the “excused from class” list to set up our display and bean plants in the big gym. Teachers brought their classes down to view and learn from the projects. Heather and I “womaned” our booth with pride as many students seemed genuinely interested in our botany experiment. While I answered questions and explained our project, I was aware out of the corner of my eye, of the scary science fair judges wearing white lab coats and carrying clipboards. I started to feel butterflies in my stomach. 

Our turn. Three judges faced us square on and asked us to explain our experiment. Heather’s neck turned red and she was quieter. Now I understood why she would pair up with a science-dummy like me. She was the solid detail person and I had the gift of the gab. The more I explained the more excited I got and the butterflies flew out my mouth. And because of my partnership with Heather, my Dad’s expertise and my complete immersion in the experiment, I KNEW MY STUFF. Like really, really, knew my stuff. Better than any science test I had written. 

We won the science fair. 

And the bonus was, the winners in each category got to move on to the next level of competition held in the big city! Guelph! Extra bonus being, I got to be on the “excused from classes” list again and miss a whole day of school! Heather and I hugged and literally jumped up and down.
On the day of the Guelph Science Fair, Heather called me. She was really sick and could not accompany me to the competition. Oh, boy. I would be on my own, without my human-facts foundation.

After I arrived home from presenting our project, I called Heather (BTW, 38 years later, and I still remember her phone number: 291 3265) to see how she was feeling and provide a report. 

We won the Science Fair in our Division.

ANNNND…. We won the University of Guelph Agricultural Award.

Perth Country Regional Science Fair crest

We each were given a trophy that was also a desk pen-holder. I still have the metal crest from it.

I took the trophy to school the next day and went straight to Mr. Pauly. I placed the trophy on his desk and said, “Now, do I get my credit?”

With that credit and armed with a new found confidence in my own metacognition, I was able to push through High School, earn a degree from Wilfrid Laurier University, a B.Ed. from Brock University and a M.Ed from University of Toronto. While I did not major in Science, I did learn some valuable lessons from this and many other early education experiences.

First I learned from Mr. Reoch that a teacher’s job is to make sure students master concepts and sometimes failure is the precursor to success. I am not talking about the times when you don’t put the effort in and therefore fail; I am talking about the value of trying multiple times in earnest. He also didn’t judge me as a person by my struggles in science class. He asked me to be his regular babysitter for his daughter, Mary Lauraleen. I figured he must have recognized I might not be a wiz in his class but I had valuable skills in other areas including working with children.

I learned from Mr. Pauly that experiential learning works. Drilling down and participating in a science question I was curious about taught me not just about bean plants but how to execute the scientific method which was an important outcome of the Grade 10 course and it also helped prepare me for my Master’s thesis experiment. I am grateful to him for understanding there are multiple ways to look for evidence of learning. 

Most importantly, I learned the value of a challenge. I am so grateful Mr. Pauly did not stifle my competitive spirit thereby teaching me that when I do the work, pay attention to the details, put in the time and add some passion, I can do pretty much anything I set my mind to. 

My precious friend Heather taught me something too. Our friendship was important enough to her that she would ask me to be her partner, just because she liked working with me and not because I was a gifted scientist. I learned how important it is to surround myself with positive, creative people who have strength in areas I am weak. She showed me stuff I would have missed if I had done the project alone. And I like to think she appreciated the strengths I had to offer to complement her abilities. The gift of gab has to be good for something!

Most importantly, the cards were stacked against me and I learned the value of tenacity. There was a way to pass my course, albeit an unconventional way. I can cite many examples in my life when my solution was very different from other people’s, my solution was unconventional but my solution was creative. My solution suited me.

Resilience.

ADDENDUM

1. Mr. Pauly was an exchange teacher from Australia. I was supposed to get Mr. Potter but the two teachers and their families traded places for a year with Mr. Potter going to Australia to teach science. Mr. Pauly landed in Toronto, leaving his summer in Australia, to drive on the other side of the road to Listowel from Toronto Pearson airport through a mighty snow storm. Seeing snow for the first time, he must have wondered, “What have I done???!!!”

2. Herbie Wong continues to help people with compassion, skill and intelligence as a leading Gynaecologist in Toronto. He fights to ensure women’s voices are heard in the medical community at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre and through his clinic. I am sure he could write his own resilience story about getting into medical school, practising medicine overseas and becoming a leading doctor in Canada. Check out his clinic here.

3. The “Co-op” was a store littered all over my hometown area in Southwestern Ontario. They sold farm equipment, home and garden supplies. Some even sold gasoline. It’s where Dad traipsed me and my brothers to get our rubber boots every spring muddy season. Dad often saved up coupons or points or something to make sure each kid had a green Co-op hat to shade the sun from our faces in summer. I have not seen a Co-op in the area for years but I found it on the internet serving UK customers. 

4. “Stedmans” was also found on the Main Street of all the small towns near where I grew up. It was a variety-department store, founded in 1907, that sold affordable household items and clothes. The first store was in Brantford Ontario and during the 1950s and 60s there were over 1000 stores in small towns. I think it still exists somewhere but has been bought up and partnered with other similar companies. 

5. The Encyclopedia Britannica hails itself as the world standard in knowledge since 1768. They were a collection of hardcover books providing reliable information on history, arts, science, political movements and more! Basically it was the modern day Google in written form. Salesmen (I never saw women doing it) would go door to door selling them. Mom and Dad thought long and hard about buying them since they were expensive, but in the end decided it would be best for our education. And they were right. I spent hours reading them both for leisure and school projects.