Belle> kicking a book
I try to see this type of thing from both points of view. On the one hand, sure, a teacher needs to keep order. On the other hand, it was the first day of school and he's a little boy and it sounds like she came down a bit hard on him initially. If it had been me, I probably would have said, "Okay, today you can sit on the blue bit, but after this, everyone has to stay where they start or we'll never get settled down." IMHO, firmness plus sympathy usually wins out over too much strictness.
I would tell the teacher/principal what you told us: your son seems to be in an impossible situation. He can't be accelerated until he learns to sit still, yet he's a young child and it's very hard to understand delayed gratification at that age (and for many years to come!).
Personally, I've never understood this acceleration-is-a-reward-for-behavior philosophy. If he's able to do the work, they should give it to him. Behavior is a separate issue. I've met a lot of high school kids who haven't mastered classroom behavior, so it's not like the school can claim that it would be an impediment in the advanced class.
You might also ask the teacher or principal how they'd feel if they had to spend an entire year listening to information they had already mastered. What is the benefit?
When they tell you that we all have to learn to do things we don't like to do, you may wish to point out that your son has to clean up his toys or brush his teeth or whatever, and that these less-enjoyable activities all serve a purpose. What's the purpose of learning the sound of the letter B when you can read chapter books? What does he gain from this? Doesn't he have a right to learn in school too?
Val
