Can anyone offer some advice for our problem? Here is the situation: My 6-year-old is not paying attention during lessons. When the teacher introduces new lessons (they are learning words, syllables, basic math -typical first grade stuff) he doesn't pay attention and copy whats on the board until the last minute when the other kids are putting their books away, at which point he hurries and copies the lesson down as he should. His marks are good because he completes his work, and has no problems with his weekend homework, it's during the lesson that he plays, makes jokes, doodles, etc. The teachers are angry (rightly so) because he sometimes disturbs the other kids.
When I ask him why he doesn't do his work at the same time as the other kids he says that the teacher is boring and goes too slow.
Maybe he is gifted (of course I think so, I'm his mum), but I don't know how to make him understand that he has to do his work the same way the other kids do even if it's boring. Telling him over and over doesn't work and neither does taking away privileges.
The school system where we live is poor and doesn't have any kind of gifted program, actually I think the teachers are just happy to be paid. He has no other personality problems, in all other aspects he's an average, happy kid.
Please send some words of advice my way and I'd really appreciate it!

I posted a similar problem with my daughter. It's really frustating because you can't do anything when you're not there. My daughter has a sticker chart at school, when she finishes her tasks on time she gets a sticker and after filling the sticker chart she gets a prize. It's helping a little, but she still has problems. Maybe you can start a chart with the teacher. His teacher can send him home with a smiley or a star when he's done well for the day, and nothing when he hasn't, then everytime he accumulates a certain amount of stickers he will win a prize from you. Positvie reinforcement seems to work better for my daughter than dicipline or punishment.