Mini-interruptions in schools are part and parcel of the daily life of classrooms. They represent a breeding ground for incidents, especially in beginner teachers’ classrooms. The analysis is part of an interactionist approach based on studying filmed data generated by observing young teachers in class as well as during self-confrontation discussions with them. It shows a construction of incidents against a backdrop of socio-academic confrontation, and a relationship with the profession, resulting in an assertion of authority which, in turn, leads to an increase in punishment. The importance of mini-interruptions in school life during the teaching process affect deeply the teachers themselves and also the role which they play in situ, destabilising them greatly due to it being so far removed from their conception of the profession, from the model teacher and from the way they see themselves.