Nice to hear from you again!
It is difficult to tell from the available information if his behavior is an expression of underchallenge (in which case it would be more like "a gifted thing"--although not a phenomenon restricted to GT learners; most students get a bit antsy when instructed below their zone of proximal development), or reflective of his general pattern of interaction with his environment.
You describe the same behavior at home, where presumably you can tune his level of challenge, which suggests that the behavior is not principally originating from lack of challenge, in which case the teacher's approach has some validity to it. Yet it's also true that underchallenge tends to amplify behavioral difficulties. My concern, though, would be first with your reports of intent to hurt another child. From this distance, one doesn't know whether that is truly his intent, but if it is, it can't be written off as "a gifted thing", and certainly not as just part of who he is. (Although to begin with, I wouldn't immediately assume that it truly is intentional, especially in a five-year-old. It could be helpful to have some clarity on what observations led to this conclusion.)
I would prefer to see both instructional level and behavioral expectations worked on at the same time (but not linked as a reward/consequence). In both cases, the idea is that he is capable of more, and can reasonably be offered the opportunity and support to excel.
Last edited by aeh; 09/23/19 07:14 PM.
