When I was at the END of MY rope with a 9th grade class, I felt the same way
that you do. I still wanted to teach the kids who wanted to learn, but
couldn't deal anymore with the troublemakers.
What I did was tell the entire class (very calmly and very quietly) how I
felt about the disruption and that from now on the children who wanted to
learn should sit on one side of the room, and I would teach them. The kids
who aren't interested in learning art will on the other side of the room. I
told them that they may use pencils and paper, and I would not "bother" them
about doing the lesson. I told them they wouldn't get good grades, but they
were welcome to sit together and draw what they wanted.
I then gave the class a few moments to think about where they wanted to sit.
I reiterated my stance about what would take place, based on which side of
the room they were on. To my absolute shock, they all decided they wanted
to learn art with me.
After that, if kids were acting out, or not working, I would go over to them
and ask them QUIETLY where THEY preferred to sit. I didn't appear angry and
gave THEM the choice. This is probably not the "right" thing to do
politically in the classroom, but it really helped. Good luck.
