than when a student will not follow simple directions. Belligerence on the part of the child no matter what they had done previously is the worse of the two errors on the child's part. If the student say yes sir, then they may just get off with a stern warning, if they talk back but comply, I might actually talk to the parent. If they refuse to call or ignore you that is unacceptable because what could have been settled easy now takes much more effort on my part to resolve. help him understand that this is what happens when he makes the teacher escalate the issue.

Good luck. Two of my five are in College and the other three are pretty good girls.