How to Annoy Your Teacher Without Getting in Trouble

Last Updated: January 31, 2023

It's challenging, but not impossible, to annoy teachers without getting in trouble. The key to this process is knowing the limits of your teacher’s patience. At first, your annoying behavior will slightly grate your teacher’s patience. Gradually, they will tolerate less and less of your irritating actions. When you sense that your teacher is reaching their limit, take a break from your antics for a few days to avoid getting in trouble.

Method 1

Method 1 of 4:

Being Intentionally Forgetful

1
Ask to borrow a pen or pencil frequently. Writing instruments, like pencils and pens are basic necessities in the classroom—you will need to use a pen or pencil at some point throughout the school day. When you forget to bring a pen or pencil to class, you can’t participate in the activities your teacher assigns. Every time you forget a pen or pencil, your teacher will have to lend you a pencil or reluctantly be okay with the fact that you’re not doing your work—both options are highly annoying!
- To avoid consequences, bring your own pencil to class a few days out of the week.
- Five to ten minutes after everyone else has started working, let your teacher discover that you don’t have a pencil. Your teacher will be frustrated that you didn’t think to ask for a pencil sooner.
- Ask your teacher for multiple pencils in one day.^{[1]
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2
Bring the wrong materials to class. Some teachers require students to bring a specific folder, notebook, or book to class every day. Instead of bringing these items to class, intentionally leave them at home or in your locker. When you repeatedly show up to class without the required reading or the course packet, your teacher will become irritated by your frequent forgetfulness.
- To avoid punishment, only do this one or two times a week.
- If you leave these items in your locker, your teacher may reluctantly allow you to go and get them.
- Before you try this, read through your classroom and/or school policy. Forgetting to bring your materials to class may result in consequences.
3
Turn in your homework late. Teachers set deadlines for your benefit and theirs. Due dates teach students to plan ahead and manage their time; teachers often set deadlines to correspond with the days they have time to grade papers, tests, and assignments. When you turn in your work late, you disrupt your teacher’s grading schedule.
- Be selective about the assignments you turn in late—you still need to maintain a passing grade. Tests, exams, and final projects are usually worth the most points and should not be skipped. Choose to skip a few assignments that are worth very few points.
- Turn in your assignments one to two days after the due date.
- If you hand the assignment to your teacher, ask them when they will have it graded and in the books. Continue to ask them until they have graded it.^{[2]
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Method 2

Method 2 of 4:

Being Subtly Disruptive to the Class

1
Come to class late. Teachers expect students to arrive to class on time and ready to learn. When you arrive after the bell, your tardiness may disrupt the teacher’s routine and/or distract your classmates. Increase your teacher’s frustration by:
- Talking to other students on the way to your seat.
- Asking, “Did I miss anything important?”
- Saying, “We don’t do anything in the first five minutes anyways.” This annoys teachers because they most likely put some hard-work in their lesson and saying this makes it seem it doesn't matter.
- Asking to use the restroom as soon as you sit down.
- Don’t come to class late every day. You will quickly surpass the number of tardies allowed at your school. ^{[3]
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2
Ask to use the restroom at inconvenient times. Teachers establish elaborate bathroom procedures to prevent students from leaving class at inappropriate times. Blatantly ignoring their restroom rules is a great way to get under their skin.
- Limit the number of times you do this to avoid repercussions.
- Ask to use the restroom immediately after class begins or right before the bell rings.
- Ask to use the bathroom in the middle of a lesson.
- Ask to use the restroom while your teacher is giving instructions.
- Fill out your pass incorrectly.^{[4]
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3
Sharpen your pencil frequently. Pencil sharpeners make loud, irritating noises—it is really difficult for students to hear a teacher over the deafening noise of the pencil sharpener. Annoy your teacher (and a few of your classmates) by sharpening your pencil while your instructor is talking.
- Take your time sharpening the pencil. Pull it out of the pencil sharpener frequently to check its level of sharpness.
- Before returning to your seat, accidentally “break” the pencil so that you have to sharpen it again.^{[5]
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Method 3

Method 3 of 4:

Acting Disinterested and Overdramatic in Class

1
Don’t participate in the lesson. Teachers put a lot of time into each lesson so that the content is exciting and accessible to students. Instead of appreciating the effort they put into planning the lesson, you can annoy your teacher by choosing to not to participate in the lesson.
- Doodle in a notebook instead of taking notes.
- Surf the internet on your tablet or laptop.
- Put your head down on your desk and pretend to sleep.
- Talk to your classmates while your teacher is talking.
- Look at the clock constantly.
- Cover a smaller book with your textbook and read it.
- If your teachers speaks to you, don’t continue with this behavior. You may get in trouble.^{[6]
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2
Act overly excited to participate in class. Teachers tend to get annoyed with students who frequently draw attention to themselves. Rather than acting calm, cool, and collected, exaggerate your emotional response to the extreme.
- When your teacher asks you a question, raise your hand and act extremely eager to answer the question—wave your hand in the air, jump up and down in your seat, scream and screech to get their attention.
- If you’re frustrated, don’t just roll your eyes and sigh. Instead, yell something very unoriginal like “Unbelievable!” or “Oh my gosh!”^{[7]
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3
Waste your teacher's time. Teachers try their best to keep their students on task and focused. You can thwart their efforts, and annoy them in the process, with tangents and/or harmless pranks.
- When the teacher asks if the class has any questions, raise your hand to offer a comment. Once called on, tell a long, drawn-out, unrelated story.
- Waste your teacher’s time by hiding objects they use every day, such as whiteboard markers, remotes, and staplers.
- If your teacher starts to get suspicious, take a few weeks off from the prank.^{[8]
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Method 4

Method 4 of 4:

Annoying Your Teacher With “Positive” Behavior

1
Tattle on other students. While students may view tattling as a helpful, and perhaps even necessary behavior, teachers do not want to spend their day refereeing every minor dispute. Teachers appreciate students who can handle their own problems and stay out of other people’s business. However, they often won’t punish students for coming to them with petty problems.
- Draw your teacher’s attention to minor problems throughout the school day. Tell them when someone isn’t doing their work, sharing, or being kind.
- Be careful, because this could get you in trouble with your peers. Snitching and tattling is seen as an unwritten social rule not to do, and if you snitch you could have your reputation ruined.^{[9]
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2
Seek attention from your teacher. Teacher’s pets are often well mannered, high-performing students. Instead of blatantly acting out, you can annoy your teacher by constantly seeking their attention and approval. You can do this by:
- Asking for help even when you clearly understand a concept
- Following your teacher around the room
- Showing your teacher completed assignments to gain their approval^{[10]
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3
Be an excellent student with little drive. There is nothing more frustrating to a teacher than a brilliant student who refuses to put adequate effort into an assignment. If your class work comes easily to you, breeze through the assignment and turn it in quickly. When you take a test over the material, turn in a perfect evaluation.
- Don't breeze through assignments if you will receive a low grade. If you are capable of doing the work, try your best to complete the assignment quickly, but correctly. ^{[11]
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Community Q&A

Question

How can I sneak a soda into school?

Community Answer

Keep your soda in an opaque water bottle so the teacher can't see the color of the soda and the bubbles. If your school only allows clear water bottles, you can still sneak in flavored water.
Question

How do you annoy a teacher who doesn't teach you but has punished you?

Community Answer

Instead of ignoring this teacher, you could take up a lot of their time. Follow them around the hallways or ask them pointless questions constantly.

Warnings

Don’t overdo it—after a while, you may get in trouble.

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Make sure not to go overboard with it. Your classmates might think you are weird and/or annoying.

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Before you set out to annoy your teacher, read through your school and/or classroom policy. Identify which behaviors will and will not get you punished. If the behavior will get you in trouble, avoid it; if the behavior is not listed as a punishable offense, proceed with caution.

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