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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.

Carrie Burch