Students shouldn't be hourly wage workers
This recent profile of Joe Liemandt and Alpha School helped me realize that students in traditional school systems are a lot like hourly wage workers.
You get a pre-determined fixed reward, regardless of experience or outcome. Your only incentive is to run out the clock and make it through the day.
Kids goof off, stir the pot, act obnoxiously, and spend 30 minutes in the bathroom, because it kills time.
Students are just like grown ups (maybe even more so): they respond to incentives.
If you connect the classroom time to an outcome-based end rather than a time-based end, things would shift dramatically. "You can get out of here and do something more fun/interesting if you pass this test. It doesn't matter how long it takes you to learn what you need to do so."
Kids want to be challenged. They want to have the opportunity to rise to the occasion and meet a standard. Structuring the curriculum to include things kids actually like doing is key. That way, they can be properly incentivized to do the necessary but less-fun stuff in a way they'll actually positively respond to.