<p>How have you talked to him about his low grades? If he genuinely struggles with the material, then that’s an acceptable reason for a mediocre grade. But if he’s just not doing his work, that’s something you need to crack down on. He’s 14, not 6, and being bored is not a reason to do poorly in a class. Life is about sucking it up and jumping through the hoops, which is something most profoundly gifted kids manage to learn to do. Even at elite colleges like HYPSM, students will end up taking required classes that may bore them, or are not enjoyable. You should stress that dealing with boring/stupid/obnoxious people and things is an inevitable, perpetual part of life. </p>
<p>As for correcting his teacher, the way your son is approaching the issue may not be the most tactful or mature method. Ask him what happens in class – how glaring or significant are the teacher’s errors? I once had a classmate who would constantly correct the teacher on minutiae (I really don’t care if my AP Gov teacher got the population of Wyoming incorrect by 5,000 people. Correcting a teacher in such a situation makes the student seem gratuitously arrogant, and probably rightfully so.) </p>
<p>If the teacher is making really significant mistakes, is your son correcting her in front of the entire class? Though in that case he’s justified in pointing out her errors, doing so in public is a really, really, really untactful way of doing it. Suggest to him that should an incident occur in the future, he talk to the teacher outside of class.</p>