DS is being Class Clown and Im not happy about it

[stoppinattwo]

just got home from parnets evening, am a bit fed up with the fact that he is behaving so disruptively in class. He is a clever kid and i just dont know how to get through to him that he doesnt need to behave like this...his teacher has siad it is just pure attention seeking behaviour and it is very off putting for the other children...what can i do

bump for sa2,

have you asked him if he is ok at school?

stoppinattwo, you have my sympathy, sounds like my DS and we haven't found a solution, so not best person to advise. However, I'd suggest you get some basic tests done, such as eyesight and hearing, to ensure he's not playing up in class to compensate for something physical (which he might not even be aware of). How old is he?

Thanks guys

he is 9...his teacher has said that he is more than capable of coping with the work..and more, he just cant help himself with the clever comments and his "i dont want to be a writer so why do i have to write essays" attitiude

Ask the teacher if she can note down his behaviour in a book that you check regularly. Bad comments mean punishments at home. Make sure your son knows you and the teacher are working in tandem and there is no place to hide! I did this with one of my sons when he was being distracting at school.

His teacher and I are going to keep in contact about his behaviour...I have warned him >

You know, I was exactly like that as a kid. Know why? I wasn't stimulated or challenged by normal school work.
Perhaps he's just bored?

I'm not certain what to suggest other than trying to teach him to respect his teacher and not talk back... even then, that wont really get to the root of the problem.

I was about 11 when I got put into the upper stream at school and honestly... we were ALL class clowns. We acted up all the time, drove several Korean teachers away because we didn't want to learn Korean (poor teacher) and generally were totally uncontrolled because we had a useless teacher who had no idea how to deal with kids who needed strict rules and stimulation.
Yet, the year before I was rather well behaved. Why? because my teacher that year was super strict but fair, earned my respect and more importantly, made sure that I had things to do when the other kids were still working on whatever.

To be honest, I think most clowning behaviour comes from extroverted and bright children. You'll need to provide rigid rules that are fair and just, explain WHY he can't do things totally (I always hated those rules that were "just because" because that was lame and a cop out to me. If I got told "because it disrupts the rest of the class and makes teaching everyone very difficult" then I was more likely to behave. )
and yes, work WITH the school on this. If he's acting out because he's bored, it might be worth looking into some sort of extra curricular activity or providing some extra work for him to do in class that he enjoys. What does he like doing?

Anyway, good luck to you! Hope you work out the reason for his attitude soon.

If I were you, I would take a long hard look at the teacher! I know it's your DS who is mucking about, but it could simply be that he is bored stiff and her teaching style just doesn;t suit him.

My DS has had the same label every year at school and last year was the worst - eventually his teacher called me in to tell me he had ADHD and she couldn't control him. she called in the educational psychologist to assess him. I kept telling her that he didn't behave like it at home but she didn't believe me. The Ed Pysch told me there was nothing wrong with him, but there was plenty wrong with the teaching. The teacher was expecting them to sit and listen and write for every lesson and he just can't sustain that level of concentration.

My DS is also easily led for approval and he had a very manipulative best friend who has since moved schools. This friend was winding DS up and sending him off to get into trouble - another thing the Ed Pysch picked up on.

This year he has a much more interesting, stronger teacher and although he is still not a model pupil he is SO much better and happier. Basically - I totally sympathise with the desire to knock boys on the head with something! BUT it may not be entirely his fault. Does your school have a Home to School Link coordinator or a Counsellor? It may be worth trying to get another opinion on his behaviour - as it stopped us telling him off all the time.

Hope it al works out! Good luck