The Story of Tom Brennan

The Story of Tom Brennan

Synopsis

For Tom Brennan, life is about rugby, mates and family – until a night of drunken celebration changes his life forever. In a drunken rage, Tom’s older brother Daniel causes a car accident in which their cousin, Fin, suffers irreversible spinal injuries and two friends are killed.

Tom’s world explodes as Daniel is sent to jail and the Brennan’s are forced to leave the small town Tom has lived in his whole life. But how can Tom even begin to rebuild his life when his mother won’t get out of bed, his father is struggling to hold the family together and Tom has to play rugby without his beloved team – and without Daniel.

Main Characters

Tom Brennan – Year 11 student and rugby half-back

Daniel Brennan – Tom’s popular older brother and star rugby five-eighth

Kylie Brennan – younger sister of Tom and Daniel, doing Year 9

Joseph Brennan – Father of Tom, Daniel and Kylie; rugby coach

Theresa Brennan – mother of Tom, Daniel and Kylie

Fin – cousin to Tom, Daniel and Kylie; injured in car accident

Mrs Healy/Gran – grandmother (Theresa’s mother)

Uncle Brendan – Theresa’s (emerging) gay brother

Chrissy – Tom’s love interest

Claire – Daniel’s girlfriend

PDHPE Links

The car accident has ramifications for each of the main characters in the story and acts as a catalyst for them to reflect on the realities and perceptions of their lives as they were, as they are and as they might be in the future. Each of the characters must learn to cope with the ramifications of the accident and many of them cope in very different ways. As the characters evolve through the story each one grows and in the process the reader is challenged to consider their own perceptions of each character and the attitudes and behaviours they display.

Using road safety, drug use and relationships as an overarching theme, the story allows for a contextualised examination of PDHPE related issues such as resilience, coping strategies, effective communication, accessing support networks and ways of supporting yourself and others.

Unit Title: / The Story of Tom Brennan / Stage/Year: / Stage 5 / Year 10
Strand(s): / Strand 1 Self and Relationships; Strand 3 Individual and Community Health / Unit length: / 10 lessons
Unit description: / This unit uses a piece of fiction as stimulus to engage students in discussion and analysis of risk taking behaviours, relationships and resiliency. Students engage in a number of interactive learning experiences that promote the capacity for health enhancing decision making.
Major outcomes / Evidence of Learning
A student:
§  5.2 evaluates their capacity to reflect on and respond positively to challenges
§  5.6 analyses attitudes behaviours and consequences related to health issues affecting young people
§  5.7 analyses influences on health decision making and develops strategies to promote health and safe behaviours
§  5.12 adapts and applies decision making processes and justifies their choices in increasingly demanding contexts
§  5.16 predicts potential problems and develops, justifies and evaluates solutions / A student:
·  Completes an analysis of the main characters in the text and proposes effective strategies for meeting challenges (5.2, 5.3, 5.7)
·  Considers viewpoints from a range of perspectives relating to the health and well being of young people by either adopting roles on an expert panel or posing questions to panellists (5.6, 5.12)
·  Completes scenario activities that require an investigation of peer influence and the application of assertiveness skills (5.1, 5.16)
·  Produces a TV show using simulation software relating to drug education issues (5.6)
·  Completes self and peer analysis in a variety of activities (5.11, 5.12)
·  Develops an action plan for safe celebrating (5.2, 5.12, 5.16)
Contributing outcomes
§  5.1 analyses how they can support their own and others’ sense of self
§  5.3 analyses factors that contribute to positive, inclusive and satisfying relationships
§  5.11 adapts and evaluates communication skills and strategies to justify opinions, ideas and feelings in increasingly complex situations
Students learn about: / Students learn to:
§  Supporting yourself
§  Challenges and opportunities
§  Strengthening resiliency
§  Recognising and responding to abusive situations
§  Drug use
§  Sexual health
§  Road safety
§  Influences on health decision making and risk behaviours / ·  explain how thoughts can affect feelings and behaviour and practise strategies to manage unhelpful and unrealistic ways of thinking
·  examine the role and impact of stress on health and rehearse a range of positive management strategies, e.g. yoga, relaxation, physical activity, listening to music
·  analyse a variety of problem situations to determine the degree to which responsibility is personal, shared or owned by someone else
·  analyse previous and predict future life challenges and identify opportunities for personal growth
·  critically analyse the gender stereotypes that may impact on life choices and evaluate the effectiveness of strategies designed to redress inequities
·  formulate a safety plan to meet the particular needs of a challenging situation, listing choices and consequences and making a decision about the best choice
·  reflect on a past situation which has required change; identify difficulties encountered and personal characteristics and skills which assisted in dealing with this change
·  examine case studies of people who have overcome adversity, including Aboriginal and other Indigenous people, and identify their characteristics and qualities
·  examine power, conflict and cooperation in different settings including friendship groups, in the school context, family and workplace
·  identify situations – such as in a crowd, at a party, going out with others in cars, at work – in which forms of abuse may occur and suggest possible protective strategies
·  practise trust, talk, take control, as a strategy for dealing with abusive situations
·  examine the consequences of alcohol use on the individual and community
·  describe the short-term effects and long-term consequences of illicit drug use on the individual and community
·  analyse how sexual attitudes, behaviours and sexuality are influenced by gender expectations and assumptions
·  propose and present strategies designed to promote safe road-use attitudes and behaviours
·  use simulation software to make health decisions and solve problems relevant to young people, e.g. determining strategies that promote safe road use
·  describe priority actions and first aid management in the case of road injury and trauma
·  recognise that health decisions and risk behaviours are not simply an individual responsibility but are shaped by a range of influences
·  analyse the range of influences that impact on an individual’s ability to behave in healthy and safe ways in relation to:
-  drug use
-  sexual health
-  road use
-  personal safety
-  accessing support services
Teaching, learning and assessment activities / Resources
Teacher note: In order for this unit to be most effective students should read the text The Story of Tom Brennan prior to starting. Allow sufficient time before beginning the unit for students to access the text and complete reading it.
§  Feelings analysis – Use one of the following introductory strategies: Either –
Students draw an image or series of images that represent their feelings about The Story of Tom Brennan. Students then hold up their image(s) and give a brief explanation of its meaning.
OR
Students are asked to spend 30 seconds reflecting on the emotions evoked while reading the story of Tom Brennan. The teacher then asks each student to express one emotion that stood out for them.
Teacher Note: Offer all students the right to keep their image(s) or emotions private if they wish.
§  Issues discussion – In groups of 4-5, students complete the following activities:
1.  Discuss events or characters in the text that made an impact on them
2.  Brainstorm issues raised in the text
3.  Classify these issues under the following headings:
-  Relationships
-  Risk taking behaviour
-  Mental health
Following this, pose two questions to each group: ‘To what extent were these issues classifiable in a specific category and to what extent did they overlap?’ and ‘What are the implications of this?’
4.  Teacher facilitates a whole class discussion of the two questions posed and issues raised by students about the text. (Teacher needs to emphasis the interrelated nature of lifestyle choices and their impact on health and wellbeing)
§  Character analysis – In pairs, students select two main family characters and one from each of the other two categories.
Main family characters: Tom, Daniel (brother), Kylie (sister), Joseph (father), Theresa (mother), Fin (cousin), ,
Extended family characters: Mrs Healy (grandmother), Uncle Brendan (Theresa’s brother), Aunty Kath (Fin’s mother; Theresa’s sister)
Supporting characters: Claire (Daniel’s girlfriend), Matt (Tom’s best friend), Chrissy (Tom’s love interest), Snorter (footy mate from Billi); Luke / Owen (other footy mates from Billi); Rory (footy mate from Coghill), Nicole / Sheridan (girls from Billi), Brianna (Kylie’s friend at Coghill)
Students then complete the following tasks for each of the selected characters:
1.  List the character’s name
2.  Outline the character’s contribution to the story
3.  Highlight the challenges this character faced
4.  Describe how these challenges were addressed
5.  Identify factors that influenced the ways in which the challenges were addressed
6.  Evaluate the effectiveness of the strategies used to meet the challenges
7.  Propose alternative strategies
Each pair then summarise this information and presents it as a poster using the format of their choice (e.g. mind map, table, artwork). The posters are then displayed on the wall and students move around the room reviewing them.
The teacher facilitates a whole class discussion during which emphasis is placed on identifying effective strategies for preventing harm and effective strategies for responding to challenging situations.
FEEDBACK – students receive peer feedback from their partner and from other students during the poster walk.
§  Expert Panel – Students are selected and/or volunteer from the class group to adopt some or all of the following roles: police officer, event coordinator, parent, teacher, local government member, young person, youth worker, TV reporter, relationships expert and an advocate for zero tolerance and abstinence. These panel members sit at the front of the classroom and field questions posed to them about a sample scenario taken from the text from the perspective of their character. A sample scenario which could elicit a number of issues and discussion points is the excerpt covering the evening of the party (pages 37-48, pages 51-52 & pages 78-82). Some issues that may arise include:
-  Under age drinking
-  Drink driving
-  Driving while in an aggressive state/mood
-  Responsibilities/capacity of peers to play a protective or health enhancing role
-  Issues around peer identity/peer acceptance
-  Gender influences and expectations
-  Sexuality
-  Intimate relationships
-  Power in relationships
Teacher facilitates the conversation and ensures that all panel members are given the opportunity to speak. At the end of the panel discussion ensure that each panel member debriefs from their role and then the teacher leads a whole class discussion using the following stimulus questions:
-  In relation to significant events how do people’s perspectives differ according to their roles in the community?
-  How can we challenge the community’s perspectives of young people?
-  Which panel members do you think provided the most effective strategies to address the issues raised? Why?
-  To what extent do factors beyond the individual impact on a young person’s capacity to be healthy and safe?
-  To what extent were the negative outcomes in the selected scenario preventable?
(An alternative to using the Expert Panel could be to have students adopt roles based on DeBono’s Six Thinking Hats. Students work in groups of six and adopt a different coloured hat each. Based on the characteristics associated with each hat students must respond to situations selected from the texts. For more detail about this alternative view the websites listed in the Resources column.)
§  RTA Shifting Gears Resource – Use Activity 2.3 from the resource booklet (Activity Outline p32, Teacher Information Sheet p35 & Student Worksheets pages 37-43) to investigate the effect of peer influence on driving and practice assertive behaviour. Within this activity students have extensive opportunity to practice ‘Trust, Talk, Take Control’ as strategy for managing situations in which their safety may be compromised.
FEEDBACK – students receive peer feedback and feedback from the teacher during group work
§  My TV Video and Think, Pair, Share Activity – Students watch the My TV video as supplied in the resource kit. Ask students to brainstorm the issues that arise in the video and place them in the following categories – Parties, Parents, Friendship, Alcohol, Cannabis & Other (see page 9 of the Video Teacher Guide). Students then individually rank the issues from ‘easy to manage’ to ‘difficult to manage’. Students form pairs to discuss and compare their rankings providing justifications for the positioning. The teacher then leads a whole class discussion around the rankings and related issues.
FEEDBACK – students receive peer feedback during the pairs discussion and from the teacher and other peers during the whole class discussion
§  My TV CD-Rom Activity ‘Producing a Show’ – Students work in small groups to produce a TV show using the CD-Rom provided within the resource. Students identify a drug education related problem, canvas relevant opinions, locate useful websites and provide their own advice. At the completion of their TV show, each groups swaps with one other group for viewing and providing feedback.
FEEDBACK – students receive peer feedback about their TV show from one other group and the teacher
§  Strengthening Resiliency – Students work in pairs to identify four examples from the text in which characters demonstrate skills, attitudes and/or behaviours that clearly reflect key components of resilience for example; connectedness, positive self talk, accessing support networks. Each pair lists:
-  the character/s involved
-  a brief summary of the example
-  the text pages on which it occurs with a key quote to highlight the components of resilience
§  Personal Reflection – Teacher creates a classroom environment that is peaceful and conducive to personal reflection. Students position themselves around the room in a way that facilitates them being relaxed and having personal space. The teacher guides them through reflections on personal resiliency with statements such as: