What is the connotative meaning of the word smart as used in this sentence from "An Hour with Abuelo"? The sergeant said I was too smart for my own good, and gave me a job cleaning latrines.

Clever.

Explanation:

In the story "An Hour With Abuelo" by Judith Ortiz Cofer, the narrator tell of how his one visit to his grandfather's "suite" in the nursing home had led to an experience of being told his life story. Through his grandfather's "life story", Arturo decides that nothing will stop him from doing what he wants, unlike his grandfather or even his parents who always simply accepts "Asi es la vida".

In the story, grandfather told him that once he joined the army, he had tried to persuade the sergeant that since he had been a teacher and he loves being one, he could, maybe, teach the young boys. He wanted to teach them "so that they could read the instructions on the ammunition boxes and not blow themselves up". But the sergeant only said he "was too smart for (his) own good" and made him clean the latrine. This use of the word "smart" in this sentence is suggestive of him being too "clever".