If I Ignore You, You Can't Make Me

I once read a classroom management book that talked about those curious boundry testers that are always looking for the limits. Most of the time I can manage those. This year I have quite a number of kids who I think internally have their fingers in their years and they're shouting, "If I ignore you, you can't make me!"

I'm serious about this--I'm still oberserving and testing myself, but I find it a bit overwhelming. I'm the one who knows how much they have to learn. I know how this is disrupting learning and teaching. And now the question is, what am I going to do about it.

I am the grown-up, so I will handle it. But I just want to put my fingers in my ears and say, "If I ignore you, you can't make!" (And that's about all I have to say about respect for today.)

Any ideas?