Quote Originally Posted by pkq
Having been a "bad" kid turned "good," I can say good kids do get attention, and better treatment than the bad ones. Good kids get a lot of positive attention whereas bad kids often don't. I got a lot of negative attention, was ignored, and was treated differently, as a bad kid. Bad kids usually get attention only when they are bad and need discipline.
A lot of irritating behaviour is about attention. Everyone needs attention and if kids continually aren't getting enough they'll do whatever it takes to get some - acting out is a very effective way of getting an immediate response. It's such an easy trap to fall into as a teacher too, yet making a real effort to "catch" these kids doing the right things and giving them the praise they deserve for it can have a huge impact.