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The school featured in the documentary could have been one of dozens I have worked in from New Orleans to San Francisco.
No,most of the students are not”bad”.They are not a throng of out of control thugs selling dope in the hallways,dragging little girls into the restroom or mouthing off about”racist devils”Thats a myth.
Its the refusal of these types of schools to set high standards,both academically and related to discipline.Sadly,white liberals and even lots of black faculty have this attitude that”You know how THOSE kids are.You just got to let it all slide.
Set down a rule the first day of school-come prepared to work with all required materials or we will call security in to remove you from class.If it means five kids are left in the class,so be it.
Don’t even mention the family unit.With some exceptions,the black family unit is gone and will never come back.The kids will just have to carry on anyway.
Life is cruel and unfair.Thats the first lesson you learn growing up in the ghetto.You struggle despite that cold reality.

Its the refusal of these types of schools to set high standards,both academically and related to discipline.

I agree. There were a lot of things I liked about the principal, but I felt she failed very badly in not getting the kids out of the hallway - that set a bad tone to begin with, that students were allowed to roam the halls without going to class.

I also felt that she was wrong in putting the blame on the teachers when the students who didn't go to class weren't passing. The students needed to have some responsibility on them - as the 2 senior advisors said near the end, it wasn't giving the students a good life-lesson.

It's the refusal of these types of schools to set high standards

You appear to have an informed insight in to this national problem. Setting high standards and sticking with them is certainly part of the solution. However, a more important ingredient I believe is missing: A structured family.

Society has failed these kids. I'm not talking about money, text books, or facilities. Just that most don't have responsible fathers in their life to help them achieve. We can all thankfully point to exceptions to my point. However I'm talking about the majority. Our society just doesn't acknowledge or recognize that the nuclear family is important anymore. So these kids pay the price of our arrogance.