Or he/she could be extremely old school. Have the student stand up in class and apologize not only to the teacher, but to the rest of the class as well. If they refuse, assign a report about respect. I’ve used this technique in my classroom (I’m a preschool/daycare teacher, and of course I’ve not made my students write a report, but have heard of other teachers use the same idea) and you’d be amazed how quickly a classroom becomes quiet. This technique may sound childish, but the situation is even half as bad as you make it sound to be, it might be worth a try.

I also like chameleon’s answer. Your teacher does need to take it up with his/her chair.

This is really out of your league – this is her problem, not yours. You can tell her that it’s frustrating you, but it’s up to her to fix it. As a teacher, I can tell you that when you have a large class to manage (like a band), it gets pretty difficult. You have to rule with an iron fist with large groups, especially ones that are testy, like this one is. Those who cannot control their mouths can be isolated from the rest of the group (either in the room, or kicked out of class). One cannot have a conversation, if there isn’t a partner sitting nearby to hear it. She can tie participation/cooperation in to their grade. She can assign detention, or other logical consequence for not learning with the rest of the group. She could enlist the help of section leaders to help control their section. Peer pressure can help in this situation. If the section doesn’t behave, the whole section faces a consequence (sectional rehearsal, detention, grade, etc).

But frankly, you should be mad at your teacher. She is the one who is ultimately preventing you from learning. Not the other students.

It’s her job. She knew that when she became a teacher. She CAN control the situation, but she isn’t. She’s not doing her job.