When I was teaching, if i had a kid like yours in my class, i would employ him. I would give him jobs or ask him to demonstrate or be the leader in something. Usually if it was really bad, i would just move him so that he could not talk to anyone, but move him back during group stuff. He just needs a little help and i think the teacher should position him properly. It could be that when the teacher is talking, he sits up front at a desk near her. Then during times when it's okay to talk he can move to a desk close to his peers. I don't know, talking a lot is not a horrible offense to me. I know you want him to be respectful and it sounds like he generally is a respectful kid without other issues. He just needs help 'in the moment'. I would not do anything outside of school other than try to help him problem solve and give lots of positive praise when he gets good reports from the teacher. I do not like the stoplight system either. Some schools make all the teachers use it for consistency. I tried to do a lot of positive stuff. Kids who needed help focusing got to stay in very close proximity to me, which they didn't like, but it was to help them, not to punish them. That was sometimes a motivator for them to get to go back to their spot. I did a lot of moving kids around. I tried out different combinations. I would ask if the teacher has done this. One little move can change the whole situation.
post #41 of 41
5/4/11 at 6:10am
