There were quite a few familiar faces in Ms. D's classes. Vaughn was one of them. I have uttered his name many a time. Many of those times, the tone was sharp.
He was seated in one of the "attention" seats. Every teacher has a spot (or two) that I can just tell is the spot where the difficult students sit. It can be kind of isolated. It's generally in a spot that the teacher can easily keep an eye on.
I was not surprised at Vaughn's behavior. I was used to it.
But I did get a big shock when I was recording the class' tests.
I don't really look at names when I'm grading papers. And, these tests were Scantron, so they were graded by machine. I don't know if I noted the name or the score first, but when I put the two together...
Vaughn got a 95% on the test. He missed two questions.
After I picked my jaw up off the floor, I recorded his score. (And no, he didn't cheat. While I can't be certain, I did not witness anything that would make me question the validity of his score.) Then I looked at his grade. He has a B. Another shock.
It looks like he's one of those lucky souls who remembers things easily. I talked to the teacher, and she said he does well when he does his work. He just doesn't always do his work.
Deep sigh. I just hope he matures out of his difficult ways. Because imagine what he could do if he really tried.
I hope he does find some motivation to want to do better with turning work in, etc. Sounds like a bright young man who just needs some type of push to get him in a straighter path.
ReplyDeletebetty
Hope he manages to apply himself more :)
ReplyDeleteThat would be nice.
DeleteIf he does well with so little effort, is it possible he's bored, and that's why he acts out?
ReplyDeleteVR Barkowski
Reaching a kid like that is a challenge. I wish his teachers and his parents the best of luck.
ReplyDeleteYeah, me too.
DeleteSome have a gift and rise to greatness with it. Others just get by with it. He does sound like he needs direction and motivation.
ReplyDeleteOver the years I have noticed that often those kids who cause the most trouble make better grades. A mystery to me. Maybe they aren't challenged enough!
ReplyDeleteIt's possible.
DeleteI couldn't be arsed and always managed to be top of the class. High school isn't the best place for everyone...
ReplyDeleteTrue
DeleteJust because you're a trouble maker doesn't mean you aren't smart :)
ReplyDeleteI had a boy like that in my kindergarten class. He was my first reader, and he could read well! He was also one of the most difficult students in the class, behavior-wise. It's those kids that I wonder about most often and I hope they learn to apply themselves.
ReplyDeleteHe sounds like he was a challenge.
DeleteSounds like me at that age. I was literally incapable of paying attention in class...most often would sleep through all of them...but I finished highschool with a 4.8 GPA and received a double bachelors with a 3.8 GPA sooo....
ReplyDeleteI guess he just needs more stimulation? Or something.
DeleteHopefully he'll turn his behavior around and do something amazing with his life :)
ReplyDeleteIt amazing how some time we put people in pigeon holes. I recall I only once aced a test...I was false accuse of cheating because I was to stupid to get such a high score.
ReplyDeleteThen from then on I made sure I miss a lease 3...But I'm not a good test taker.
Coffee is on
That's too bad. I can see how suspicion might fall, but it's rude to accuse someone of cheating unless one saw the student do something suspicious.
DeleteI am sure he will apply himself more in future.
ReplyDeleteI think you said it best, hopefully he will mature out of the behavior. Perhaps he gets more attention from his bad behavior than he does from his accomplishments.
ReplyDeleteI had a shock last year when I marked a huge spelling test and the most disruptive pest in the class was way above the rest of the class. I think sometimes smart kids find the school system boring.
ReplyDeleteI think the lesson here is some of the most disruptive just need more to do ;)
DeleteMore to do and maybe more odd stuff to do
ReplyDeleteYup
DeleteWow! It sounds like his teacher really has a "handle" on him. He is so lucky to have her. Not every teacher would have the patience to know what to do with a kid that can "perform" but prefers to misbehave. (Sorry. Sucking with wordage today.)
ReplyDeleteYeah, well, she's got quite the bunch.
DeleteUnfortunately, intelligence doesn't always mean good decision making. Hopefully he'll grow out of it.
ReplyDeleteThat is true. Plenty of smart people do dumb things all the time.
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