she said he isn't doing his best work in class and needs to demonstrate his best work rather than expecting everyone to assume he is bright (before he will be pulled out)....
Gah, I hate that.
That said, "doing something stupid and pointless because it's important to someone with power over you" is a useful life skill. If there's a set, objectively-measurable threshold for getting the enrichment pullout (rather than a nebulous "I'll know it when I see it"), tell him exactly what he needs to do to earn the pullout, give him whatever support he needs to develop the skills to be able to choose to earn it, and let him make his own choices. If there's not (yet) an objectively-measurable threshold, sit down with the teacher and figure one out.
