I'm starting this thread, but not sure where it belongs, so, administrators, please feel free to move it if necessary. To me, it does seem to fall under the category of relationships.

I was reluctant to start this thread because I no longer dwell on my experiences with what I can only categorize as someone sociopathic. I will post about them later if interest in this thread continues.

For now, I would like to discuss the sociopath in the making. As a middle school teacher, I see students each year who exhibit the potential for such behavior, or are ALREADY behaving very skillfuly in such a way.

One student particularly comes to mind, and the concept of "nature vs. nurture" seems to have played a big role in it. This little boy gravitated to me in his 6th grade year from the start. Very bright, he revealed to me that his mother was unable to care for him because of severe psychological problems, and that his dad was severe alcoholic. As a result, he was farmed out to various family situations, where the families also were borderline in their ability to function. I began hiring him to do little jobs for me, paying him generously, and giving him little speeches about taking his education seriously. This continued over three years while he was sporadically back and forth from various living situations, sometimes away from my area. At one point, he told me he had to give his pay from me to "Angie," another dropout former student, for baby formula. That was not my intention at all in working with him. Also, he always asked me to "come pick him up" when I had a job for him, although he was well within walking distance or bike riding distance in my little town. I also witnessed the whole family waiting for him to arrive after several jobs so they could go spend his money. They were all on welfare in the household, with several illegitimate babies.

I could see this young man's charm and innate charisma, his extreme intelligence (he was in my homeroom and his standardized test scores were off the charts!) I also realized I was losing the battle.

This was several years ago, and I've lost track of him, but I am sure he followed the dark side, rather than pursuing education and developing a work ethic. His "look," his intelligence, his ability to manipulate, his budding sexuality, all tell me he had the potential for sociopathy. I hope I am wrong. I lost track of him, and, in my interactions with students now, I no longer get so intensely involved. (Hey, I even considered trying to adopt him or be a foster parent.)

Seeker