Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums General Discussion How petty can teachers get!?!

Hmm.

I sympathize with a giftie fidgeting while being subjected to the fourth lecture about addition models in two weeks. But the topic was poetry. It seems reasonable to expect that even a very bright child might learn something in that situation.

As for the "bad behavior" label, it seems reasonable to me based on what you described. Sorry; I know this isn't what you want to hear, but your daughter did something she almost certainly know she shouldn't have done. She likely distracted other kids and sent a message to the teacher saying, "I don't care about this poetry stuff." IMO, this is bad behavior.

If the teacher didn't contact you about it, s/he probably didn't see it as a big deal, was reacting in proportion to the scale of the problem, and was consequently not being petty at all.

Learning to respect others is important, and your DD was being disrespectful. True, she was disrespectful in a small way, but the punishment was also small. Yet was apparently enough to get her attention if she saw fit to tell you about it. Personally, I think this is a good lesson.

I get that little kids don't understand all the rules: they're little kids and this is to be expected. But consequences like reduced grades for not behaving properly are there to teach the rules. Again, based on what I read, the teacher's reaction was absolutely appropriate.