8 year old discruptive in class

My son's second grade teacher is having trouble keeping my son's attention.  She says he is discruptive, because he switches off and starts chatting.  He does not listen and misses instructions, and never completes his work. S

he seperated him for non group work for a term, but it did not help.  I noticed she now has him writing sentences "Be an active listener" (found in his bag)  his grades however are good, in fact he is very intelligent, alway full marks for spelling and ahead for his age in reading and language.  His written work however is quite poor, and his social skills are not great.

In the playground he is bullied, but the teachers say he brings it on himself.

Obviously there are a number of issues here - active listening and social skills are the most important.

It has been suggested that because he is a boy he willl take longer to mature and settle in.

[Sandman2]

   These are classic signs of ADHD kids.  If the child is intelligent, it is not caught as early because the grades don't fall.  Usually about 4th grade, the math gets complicated enough that the child starts falling behind.  Common denominators in 5th grade is typically the killer.  but by then the child has missed so much that catching up is really tough.
   Having said this, it is also possible he is just bored.  However, never completing his work (what is homework like with him - can he concentrate and finish it in a short time?), and being bullied (because he brings it on himself) - are very strong signals.
  I would think his first grade teacher would have said something.  I also hate to say this but writing sentences will never work for an ADHD kid.  He can only look forward to more stupid punishment like this, if he is not diagnosed and correctly dealt with.
  You didn't mention his age.  If his birthday is during the summer or Sept.  maturity could be a problem.  But essentially, bright kids can figure out the system and adjust pretty quickly - unless they have something (like ADHD) that prevents them from doing so.
  I would watch him closely in 3rd grade, and if things don't change - get an evaluation of him from a good child psychologist.  You might also want to read some of the posts on the ADHD forum (where I normally post) to get an idea of what kids go through.  I think it would also be a good idea to google ADHD and get an idea of what this is all about.

[Encephalomalcia]

Maybe the teacher is boring to him or maybe the work is boring.  My step-daughter used to stare out the window in class during the 1st grade.  She was not fond of her teacher.  She did much better in the second grade and is doing well above average now in the third grade.  It may be better next year.  In my opinion, the writing will not help.  He will listen if what he hears is interesting or if the teacher is interesting and energetic.  What happened to energetic teachers?

[aid821]

I picked something up when i read through your post and that is, maybe he understands what the teacher says but is not able to put it onto paper. This could be a reason for him not listening in class, it's possible that it is such a (continual) problem for him, that he gets frustrated and easily distracted. Perhaps you could ask him if he understands the teachers instructions, children at your sons age don't necessarily think to ask the teacher for clarification.

I believe it is true that boys' social skill development is behind that of girls, so for the problems in the playground, tell your son to play with another group of children if he is getting bullied or let the teacher know what is going on. Additionally, reinforce the 'how to play nicely at lunchtime' behaviour consistently, of course it will drive you crazy, but eventually it'll stick and hopefully the message will get through.

I don't feel that it is ADHD, these days if a child is the least bit active, he/she is automatically labelled as ADHD! Lastly, it wouldn't hurt to ask him on a daily basis, everything that went on at lunchtime (which i'm sure you already do), and if there is a pattern of bullying, then it may be time to organise an interview with his teacher.

[maggie2359]

I have a second grader too that acted the exact same way, and he has ADHD.. I would have his Doctor check him as they can tell... also there is something that he can give you to fill out to find out if he really does have ADHD... We have our son on Concerta, he is so much better now, there is no more emails or phone calls from his teacher...