My (anecdotal but common) presumption is that the disparity often comes from a cultural / behavioral divide, which is increasingly blurry along racial lines but

My (anecdotal but common) presumption is that the disparity often comes from a cultural / behavioral divide, which is increasingly blurry along racial lines but still distinct enough to recognize usually. By behavioral I mean things that are disruptive to standard teaching, like, during a lecture or presentation, students are spending time on phones or chatting with each other or listening to music or drawing or walking around. General "I don't care, I'm going to do my own thing" behavior. Sometimes the behavior is based in a cultural or subcultural expectation or standard. What methods or authorities do teachers have to enact behavioral change in such cases? In most cases, none at all. If any attempt isn't derided as racist (or other -ist/-phobic accusations) it's viewed as authoritarian/inhumane. Decades of legal precedent and risk aversion have caught up to education, perhaps rightly so. I don't think there's any chance in hell of going back to paddling and such, so we need to come up with newer ways to enact behavioral change. In order to do this, I think we have to stop being afraid of slights against culture. Unity of purpose, of many one. Diversity is not a strength if there is no unifying principle among the diversity.