Know it all and the Teacher's Pet

What's the function of a "know-it-all" in the class? Does that person have a purpose in the over all scheme of things?

What I found odd when reading a few other posts about the "know-it-all" is that it wasn't necessarily a bad thing. Yes in general the label is negative, but there were good things that can come from it. They tend to answer questions and try to trump the teachers knowledge. These are great chances for the teacher to explain things to the class. Even just the discussion between the KIA and the teacher can be very informative. I think the teachers needs to be careful about proving the KIA wrong. This could discourage the other students from trying at all. But you can't let them dominate the entire discussion. It is possible to make them a peer tutor or give them some other duties that keep them from annoying everyone. But even though the KIA may answer all the questions, at least the questions are being answered. This gives the teacher an opportunity to draw other students in on the discussion.

Where does the "teacher's pet" come into play?

Again, this term more then the first had both negative and positive connotations. Yes, they are helpful, endearing, interested, and everything we want in our students. BUT they are also annoying sometimes, needy, and gain a sense of being owed something. So I think pets can be good as long as there remains defined boundaries and they aren't given too much power. Also it is necessary to always be fair. If the pet breaks a rule you have to treat them like any other student. I think this is where teachers have issues. First, they don't create boundaries which creates ownership by the student. Then teachers react differently to issues with the student. So pets end up being useful in the classroom as long as a teacher keeps in mind what they must do to maintain fairness.