Cheaters

[mollyL]

Once again I'd like to know what you teachers would do about this kid/situation. All my kids aren't bad, I promise!
This boy will cheat at the drop of a hat. If all the kids are putting on blindfolds for a game, he puts on his blindfold so he can still see. If it's a race and at the midpoint of the race you have to stop and sing a song, he sings half the song and then races to the next stop. That's not really the part that gets me angry, though. He'll point at a kid and shout that they're cheating even if they're not. It seems to be a compulsion with him. The other kids don't really like him that much and basically ignore him. I'd like to be able to find a little object lesson that shows him that what he does isn't right, but I just can't come up with one. Anybody dealt with this?

[Adam Waxler]

This may be a little off topic but one thing I find frustrating is when kids don't follow directions.  They get an assignment and never bother reading the directions (or if they do then they simply don't follow them).  Here's an old "trick" that teaches them a lesson...I fell for it myself when I was in 5th grade....the teacher hands each student a "quiz" that starts off with fairly normal questions, but then get stranger as the quiz continues...later questions have the students do strange things like shouting out how old they are etc.  The "trick" is that the directions clearly state do question #1 & #2 only then put down your pencil and sit quietly.  It is really funny to watch how many students keep going because they didn't follow directions.

Again, I know it isn't the exact same thing, but it could work as a good (and funny) lesson for that student on how to follow directions.

[justontime]

Adam, that is such a good idea!  I get frustrated when students don't follow directions, even bright students don't seem able to do so reliably. It is important that they master this important skill because if they don't get it right they will lose out in exams and tests.

[SageMother]

Once again I'd like to know what you teachers would do about this kid/situation. All my kids aren't bad, I promise!
This boy will cheat at the drop of a hat. If all the kids are putting on blindfolds for a game, he puts on his blindfold so he can still see. If it's a race and at the midpoint of the race you have to stop and sing a song, he sings half the song and then races to the next stop. That's not really the part that gets me angry, though. He'll point at a kid and shout that they're cheating even if they're not. It seems to be a compulsion with him. The other kids don't really like him that much and basically ignore him. I'd like to be able to find a little object lesson that shows him that what he does isn't right, but I just can't come up with one. Anybody dealt with this?

I wonder about birth order and the type of pressures the student is dealing with at home.  Sometimes, the drive to be first at any cost indicates some form of deprivation, but not always.

[mollyL]

Good point, Sage! The cheater is the youngest of four kids. The oldest is a boy and the middle two are girls. I suspect a bit of learning problems have gone on with him, but I'm not privy to that information. The mom and dad seem to treat him a bit "specially", always making sure to spend quality time with him, where they don't seem to treat the others that way. The dad is a bit of an overbearing boor, but not really a bad sort; does that make any sense?

[mollyL]

This may be a little off topic but one thing I find frustrating is when kids don't follow directions.  They get an assignment and never bother reading the directions (or if they do then they simply don't follow them).  Here's an old "trick" that teaches them a lesson...I fell for it myself when I was in 5th grade....the teacher hands each student a "quiz" that starts off with fairly normal questions, but then get stranger as the quiz continues...later questions have the students do strange things like shouting out how old they are etc.  The "trick" is that the directions clearly state do question #1 & #2 only then put down your pencil and sit quietly.  It is really funny to watch how many students keep going because they didn't follow directions.

Again, I know it isn't the exact same thing, but it could work as a good (and funny) lesson for that student on how to follow directions.

I remember taking that exact test when I was in the 7th grade, and it really hit home, as I didn't follow the directions. I was always careful to read things through, so it was a really valuable lesson!