My child is struggling 
Now that my child has 
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Scenario #3: The Teacher
View from the classroom: I teach Honors World History. I move at a fast pace and cover a lot of ground. I take pride in the knowledge that I’m thought of by students and parents as a teacher who is “good and fun…but tough.”I’ve got a boy in my class, George, who at time seems to know history better than I do. He’s addicted to the History Channel and can go into great depth about a number of topics. He’s the kind of kid who might one day become a historian (or even a history teacher!).The problem is, though, that this boy simply can’t resist the urge to call out what he knows before other kids get a chance to answer a question—and sometimes even before I get the question out of my mouth! If I were his private tutor, I could handle this. But since this is a class, he’s posing a major management problem. His classmates are upset by his impulsive style. They roll their eyes when he blurts out an answer, and I know they’re thinking, “Mr. B., why can't you handle this kid?” And I get it.
One of my students told me she’s stopped raising her hand in class because, as she puts it: “It’s hopeless. George knows like everything, and I never get a chance to talk in class. It’s so annoying!” I brought this situation up at the Student Assistance Team meeting at school and got some pretty good ideas from my colleagues. They suggested talking to him outside of class about the need to let others have a chance to talk and telling him I wouldn’t call on him unless his hand was raised. All good ideas that I’ve tried, but the problem persists. I really respect this kid’s knowledge and even his desire to share it, but I’ve got to get my class back on track!
My take on this: Mr. B is obviously conscientious and cares for this very talented student, but he also cares about the rest of the kids in his class. He has an exuberant, bright boy in class whose outbursts are creating a negative atmosphere. The teacher feels like he’s losing control, which is apparently an unfamiliar situation for him. He’s sought out consultation from his well-meaning colleagues, but he’s still grappling with this dilemma. What to do?
My advice: I would ask for a consultation with the school’s behavior specialist. This person is a professional who’s trained to look for patterns in kids’ behavior and identify the motives of that behavior. The specialist might identify that his disruptive calling out signals or is symptomatic of one or a combination of the following items:
- the student’s need for attention;
- his desire to show what he knows in order to reinforce his feelings of self-importance;
- his attempt to compensate for feelings of inferiority in other parts of his life;
- his lack of empathy when it comes to understanding the impact of his behavior on others in the class and on his teacher; or
- impulsive-type AD/HD in an extremely gifted and well-educated teen.
Observation and data analysis should help the behavioral specialist come up with a systematic plan that would match the behavior assessment. The teacher might then be encouraged to schedule private seminars with the student, which would allow the student to have high-level academic discussions with the teacher in private. In exchange, the student might be more inclined to restrain himself more class. Here are a few more ideas for Mr. B to explore, either on his own or with a nudge from the student’s parents:
- The student could be given a notebook or an iPad and be asked to write down what he would say if he were called upon, and then later confer with the teacher on whether or not his answer was correct.
- The teacher could give him an “advanced” assignment that would allow him to display his knowledge in a written essay or in a creation (play, poem) of some kind.
Mr. B could also put kids into learning dyads or teams—what I call "learning success partners" (LSPs). Once a teacher asks a question, each pair of LSPs discusses what they think the correct answer is and then, once the partners agree, are allowed to respond to the question. The teacher, of course, is in charge of choosing which team member shares the answer with the class.
This kind of strategy does several things: It puts the teacher back in the driver’s seat; it encourages positive social interaction and collaboration; it slows down and channels the impulsive behavior; and it gives all kids a chance to contribute at the micro (team) and macro (class) levels.
Read on for more AD/HD information, including:
