numbers game

     I hate to say it, but days when Neo are absent run more smoothly.
     I guess it comes down to sheer numbers: if it's only King and Junior, I can keep closer tabs on them. I can still circulate and help my other students while regularly stopping by to monitor the boys' progress and check that they understand the assignment.
     With all 3 present, I'm yelling at Neo for running around the room and reminding King to sit down while trying to show Junior how to do that two-digit multiplication problem. Not to mention tending to the needs of my other students.
     I feel like I'm a bad teacher for saying that. Shouldn't I be able to keep 3 energetic boys in check?
     As I was getting Junior started with some measurement conversion problems the other day, he informed me that in sixth grade he wasn't going to act like this. He said he was going to sit down, be quiet and do his work. I didn't know what to say, to put it mildly. I told him that I was sure he had enough of that self-control for fifth grade, too.
     Have I really exhausted all of my options for dealing with the boys and getting them focused on learning? I believe that I've tried quite a few things, but are there other strategies I haven't considered? I've talked to the boys so many times about making better choices, why they are in school, etc. All the right answers come out of their mouths, accompanied by contrite looks. But not much has changed; they are still missing out on a lot of learning because of behavior. It's frustrating to keep talking and talking and see no changes. It's almost the end of quarter 2, and I'm wondering whether I should look into having one of them switched to a different teacher. Is that giving up? Or a strategic move that benefits that student and my entire class?
     Tough decision.