Oh dear.. yes, yes, yes I have one of these kids. No selection of offerings is quite right (enough) for Miss Goldilocks, there...
and she regards instructions as merely "suggestions" and generally figures that if it isn't HER idea, then it is probably something to be suspicious of.
Pretty much every time I've attempted the "psych" methods on her, what I initially thought was very clever or wily turns out to be an abject failure that leaves me wishing that I'd just leveled with her.
On the other hand, the "why do I need to learn this-- it's stupid" thing tends to be best resolved, as someone else has noted, with greater DIFFICULTY. Show the necessity not with simple examples (as most schools are wont to do for 'beginning' learners of concepts) but with examples which actually demonstrate a NEED for the tool/concept.
