hard kid

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Home : 2004 : November : 21

hard kid
By Mary

I agree with almost everything that was said above, with a couple of disagreements:

As a sixth grade teacher, I definitely DO recommend isolating him in the classroom. I have sixth graders that sit all by themselves, apart
from the others who are in groups, because they just can't handle being around peers. With some sixth graders, isolation is your best resource. To let this child join peers is to kiss your lesson plans goodbye.
You say he finishes his work quickly and does a good job. Differentiate! Give him more challenging work. Just because he didn't test gifted doesn't mean he's not. If

he's gifted (or just extremely bright) and disruptive, he's not being challenged. As long as he's not challenged, he's going to disrupt your class. You can end it now, or suffer till June.

I completely disagree that you should use him as a peer tutor. All the research on bright kids says never, never do this. It's far more appropriate to give him work at his level. It's the teacher's job to tutor the other kids, not this child's.