A class clown can be an existential threat to the learning environment of a classroom. I say this as someone who was a class clown, on and off, from 6th to 9th grade. As an illiterate/sub-literate child, being placed in ‘the dumb row’ in the 2nd grade created an open wound. I ruffled feathers and stepped on toes. I disrupted other people's education at times and disrupted teachers from doing their jobs. They made me cry at times, and I could make them cry too. It was a no-win