“ Side note: Even in my worst classes, most of the kids were good”
And that is why it is essential that whoever is the authority, in the case of schools, the principal, deals with the students who are being disruptive. A tiny percentage will continue to disrupt even if they are held to account. A much larger percentage will join disrupting with them if there is no accountability.
That is why things are getting so bad in the sanctuary cities. If every person who shuts down an intersection, for example, was put on a bus, taken to a police precinct, booked and let out with even a small cash bail, they would never join such an activity again. The ring leaders would still do it again.
In the city school district where I taught, principals were evaluated on reducing suspensions. They would get bonuses for doing that.
This all started maybe 20 years ago.
So instead of suspending a disruptive student, the disruptive student was sent right back to class. Teachers were told to handle things on their own. Well, you can’t be an effective teacher and a policeman at the same time. Something’s gotta give.
That’s one reason why I think big-city school districts are beyond saving. And as I noted earlier, it’s the many good kids who suffer the most.