Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Parenting and Advocacy Talking in class - normal or time to worry/act?

DS8 just got his mid-term report card and some of his grades are slipping slightly (let me state I don't care nearly much about the grades as the patterns). He went from an A to a B in art... claimed to have no idea why, teacher says he talks too much (despite several attempts at moving who he's next to) and doesn't focus on the artwork he's supposed to do. Main classroom teacher says he needs to follow directions. He told us that he missed a question in class because he didn't understand it... our guess is that's because he wasn't paying attention.

Is this normal behavior at this age? He's our oldest and this is not the first time we've been down the path of classroom behavior issues. Trying to figure out if he's getting bored, simply behaving badly, etc. He is at the PG level, not accelerated other than higher (2 levels up) reading and 2 levels accelerated in math. Plus a small group pullout.

My own childhood makes me lean toward "bored and acting out." My own report cards are littered with this kind of statement beginning in about... um...




okay, "always." Starting in Kindy, in fact.

HK... I hear you. I'm the one who sat in place while the teacher moved all the students from sitting next to me before she figured out who was the root cause of the note passing, etc. I may or may not have conveniently forgotten whatever else I did. On the other hand, I suspect I was a more compliant student. At least in my early years.

Bored in art class makes me wonder, though... it's not like he's way out ahead in that subject.

I also fear that bored may be the answer, and that the novelty of a new school year is wearing off, because, well, there's not really a good plan b here.

If anything about my experience can be called "normal," they yes, I suppose it is normal for his age, because my report cards at his age always said I talked too much, and I was getting Cs and Ds in penmanship (because you can read it, I can read it, that's the point of the exercise, so quit bugging me), and neither "issue" has had any major impact on my life.

Honestly, I wish I had your problem. I'm actively encouraging my DD9 to talk more in class as a coping mechanism/safety valve when she isn't learning anything. She's way too compliant, and that brings its own set of problems.

I'm not convinced that a majority of NT kids are all that interested in gluing pasta to paper plates.

Lol, Dude! To be fair, the art is beyond pasta. The assignments seem pretty interesting, although perhaps not to DS. Honestly, I think he's just generally more interested in sharing whatever's on his mind, whenever something's on his mind. That's a bit of an exaggeration. I think... maybe not, unfortunately. It can definitely be disruptive.

I would agree about the art class (or music or PE for that matter) - unless it is an area of passion for your child, it is entirely possible to be bored even if you are not "ahead" in that subject. I can definitely remember being bored in some segments of art and music classes and the teachers noticing that I was not all there during those times, and although I loved PE most of the time, if a basketball showed up in class, you would have seen a completely different side of me (I hated basketball).

Re "bored in art class":

I don't know what your DC's art class is like. But for DS7 in public elementary school - the kids get VERY specific instruction about what they are "creating" and how they will "create" it and what their "creation" should end up looking like. The teacher hangs the completed work, and you have to look for the kids' names, because the "art" all looks very much alike.

DS routinely acts out in art class, because he loathes it. He gives a very succinct reason for this - "Mom, it's not art. It's copying."

He's right. And if your son is subjected to this, I'll bet he's bored out of his mind.

I will add though, that DS is certainly not a model for what is "normal" in a classroom. Far from it, in many, many ways, both good and bad!

Yup. This was me as a child.

Er.


I suppose some people might judge this to have been something of a stable personality trait, now that I think about it. AHEM.

again.