First, is it one student or a group of students behaving this way? I would be willing to bet that if it is a whole group of students, either they are simply trying to push your buttons and are ganged up together, or one student started it and the others are simply following the same path (in which case, you need to figure out who started it because that’s where the discipline problem started). 

Now, assuming you want to know how to eliminate the problem rather than just responding to the problem, here are some steps to take:

Reflect Before Reacting 

Before addressing an ongoing behavior such as verbal wisecracks, sit down in that student’s seat after class is out and reflect. Survey the classroom from the student’s perspective, know who is sitting where, think about what it is you know about the student’s home life and any other factors that impact the student’s life: subject matter, difficulty level, any special needs, any problems with friends, girl problems, boy problems, puberty, parental issues, poverty level, etc.

Now think about – and write down – the details of the situation in question. What was going on? What happened in the classroom directly prior to the behavior? Many times you can follow the behavior backwards and see a root cause.

Possible Behavior Triggers 

A behavior trigger is something that causes a behavior to occur. This might be emotional stress (parents splitting up, verbal/physical abuse at home, bullying), academic stress (not comprehending the subject, difficulty keeping up in class, special needs) or a more tangible cause (being told an answer was wrong in front of the class, being laughed at for academic efforts by other students).

Identifying the possible behavior triggers for a student who is directing wise cracks at a teacher is an important first step towards eliminating the issue. My guess without knowing more about the situation, is that a student who is talking back to a teacher is either under academic stress (probably having a hard time keeping up) or is under some kind of emotional stress.

Having a better idea of what is triggering the behavior will give you a place to start helping the student.

How To Respond?

Solving the underlying problem is the hard part. Responding to the wisecracks is often the easy part. Initially, simply ignore the comments. They are likely meant to get you riled up, so not responding is likely to help in the long run (although it may also cause them to get worse before better, see ignoring the behavior). 

If the comments include swear words, here is an idea for how to deal with cursing in the classroom.

The bottom line: you are the adult, so use self-control and respond with maturity and restraint. Then, figure out what is causing the behavior and work to fix the underlying problems because all behavior has some sort of trigger. That does not make the behavior correct, but simply disciplining for a behavior will not eliminate the behavior if you are not also working to correct the trigger. 

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I may be out of line here, but in my opinion, it’s time to break free from the expectations that a class will be the same as they were last year, or that they are “all tough” in a certain grade. In fact, students live up to expectations and if you expect them to be bad, they will. If they perceive the expectation, they will fulfill it as well, even if you don’t actually expect it. (this means you’re likely suffering from last year’s teacher’s bad management habits)

So you have the worst class, so the entire grade is a nightmare, ok. Now we move on. If it is 5th grade, you can likely have this conversation with them to elicit change. Otherwise it’s time for a radical shift in your own thoughts/attitudes and methodologies. 

Troubled students may still act out, but it’s time to give them all the opportunity to reign in their behavior – start by spending time each day modeling proper behavior and having students model proper behavior. Review or change classroom expectations and set in place strict consequences for misbehavior and rewards for proper behavior.

Above all, you need to respect your students. If you don’t respect them, how can you expect them to show you any respect?

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First, attempt to understand the basis for the lie:

Does the child realize that he/she is lying?

Does the child receive some sort of reward for lying? (ie. More free time, less work, the opportunity to leave the classroom, etc.)

Does the child have a psychological need that is not being met? (freedom, love, power, fun, belonging) So for example – is the student lying to gain importance in the classroom, to push the teacher’s buttons and get a rise, to earn a new friend, etc.

Once you have an idea why the lying is occurring, first try to rectify that situation. Remove rewards for lying (stop sending the student out of class, for example). Allow the child needing to gain importance in the classroom the opportunity to clean the blackboards each day. For the child who needs more friends, attempt to incorporate more group activities into the lessons for the day to encourage friendships.

Second, adjust the vocabulary you use during conversations with the child. Words to eliminate: lie, fib, believe, etc. These words will cause the child to throw up defenses and not listen.

Instead, use the word “I”. For example, “I am having trouble understanding what you said because Sallie doesn’t look happy about something. Can you explain it again to me?”

Often pathological liars will not stop at simply being caught and will instead defend themselves to the end of the conversation. Instead of getting caught up in forcing the child to tell the truth, reward those students who tell the truth in difficult circumstances and focus on building truthful relationships between students.

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Mrs. D* teaches fifth grade. Her students were having a bad day and were not listening or staying in their chairs. Her method of handling the situation was to pull out the Barney song (I love you, you love me…) and play it for the class. The class was instructed that they must sit still and quiet through one whole playing of the song in order for the students to move onto another activity. Twenty minutes later the class period ended and they moved to specials with the song still playing.

The first problem with this scenario is that the song and task are both demeaning to the age of the student. A fifth grader does not like Barney and does not like that song. Having students sit through this song over and over again, having to sit still and quiet, was in essence the teacher telling them that she had no respect for them.

A student put in a position of belittling will revolt, whereas a student put in a position of being held to a high standard, will likely rise to the occasion. Next time, the teacher could have the students write a letter of apology to the teacher, or write a letter home to their parents explaining their behavior and signed by the teacher.

*Name changed

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In fact, in speaking to some teachers who struggle with classroom management, it is doubly frustrating for teachers to struggle day in and day out to control a class of students with another teacher never struggles at all. Usually teachers lay blame. In fact, all teachers I have spoken to lay blame:

• Bad group of kids
• Awkward age for kids
• Bad mix of kids
• Bad home life
• and so on

The list goes on but in the end it’s lying blame when in fact the only person who can change the situation is the teacher. And all teachers are able to change the situation if they only put their mind to it. It takes a lot of reflection, patience, trial and error and asking for help.

If you can’t seem to figure out how to get a particular group of kids under control, ask someone who has a great class – observe, ask “what if” questions, invite criticism, ask for suggestions, and be open to change.

Stop blaming the kids, start asking for answers.

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“John is my biggest classroom management problem”

“There are a couple of boys that just don’t get along”

“My students have respect issues”

These teachers often are also able to list various strategies they have tried in order to solve the problem.

“I’ve tried everything – taking away recess, threats, calling parents, notes home, sending them to the Principal’s office, ignoring the behavior, yelling, rewards, punishments, new seating arrangements, nothing helps!”

It may in fact seem to be the impossible class – often it is a group of students who have been impossible each grade level, developing a pattern of issues.

Solving a problem like this may not be simple but it is possible with some reflection. It is important for the teacher to take a good long look at what circumstances surround the issues involved in the classroom and attempt to think back to a trigger. It may be problems at home, it may be the style of teaching or it may be the lack of a social skill.

With some intense reflection on what works and what doesn’t work in each situation, the teacher may be able to start to address the heart of the matter and begin to see small changes in the behaviors. Addressing the behavior may not solve the problem, so through this reflection the teacher will hopefully begin to see beyond the outward behavior to the root cause.

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Here are your five basic steps to handling any discipline problem effectively:

1. Take a breath – this will give you a moment to collect your thoughts and remain under control
2. Address the misbehavior – this is important to do appropriately, do not embarrass any student, but be sure that the student knows what he or she did wrong
3. Follow through with classroom consequences
4. Do not engage in excess conversation. Informing the student of the infraction and the consequence is enough, excess conversation only invites argument
5. Forgive and forget – leave the misbehavior behind as the lesson continues, giving all students the chance to learn both from the prepared lesson and from the example set

Read more tips here: Classroom Management Strategies for Teachers

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Evaluating your Management Style:

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When a student misbehaves, a teacher who uses her hands to display her frustration (open hands thrown up in frustration or finger pointing to the student or to the place the student should be with large arm movement as well) is emphasizing her point with non-verbal cues. What she is saying is:

I’m so frustrated right now!

Why can’t you follow the rule?!

Would you just do as you are told!!!

In response, the teachers voice often raises, along with her blood pressure, stress level and not too surprising, the student’s response is negative as well.

In contrast, when a student misbehaves, if a teacher were to just control her hands, a lot would change in the exchange. Instead of throwing her hands in emphasis, the teacher clasps her hands together in a calming and controlled manner. Now her stress has an outlet, she can relax her shoulders and keeping her voice quiet direct the student to the appropriate task.

By controlling the hands, the teacher is able to control the tone of voice, the attitude and in turn the student will often respond more respectfully, and the situation diffuses quicker.

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