Let me tell you about the time I worked as a computer teacher for a small private school. My first day went well, but in the staff room that day I was told I was lucky that this one kid was out sick. No one could control him.
Next week, he was in. It took me 10 minutes to determine that I was dealing with a 10 year old kid who was incredibly intelligent, more than a little bored, and loved being the center of attention.
He was also black. I say this because I think that a intelligent, somewhat bored, attention-seeking white kid might have been treated differently.
So, day one I made him sit by himself where no one could see him to stop him from taking over the class (which he was clearly used to doing).
Day two: I paid close attention to when he finished (not surprising, he was first and did everything correctly). I immediately told him he was helping me, and paired him with a struggling student.
My hunch was right; he made a excellent teacher. He thrived on having this other kid’s attention. He wasn’t bored. He was one of my best students.
He was a bright kid. And he needed people to pay attention to him and would settle for any kind of attention he could get. But when he was able to channel that positively, he was a great student and a really helpful classmate.
