I understand what you're saying. And personally I don't really have strong feelings either way.
I'll add this though: During those years in my area if you sucked you got laughed at. Right or wrong you either stepped up and improved or found a different activity like home ec club.
I'm sure it created the occasional druggie, but for most of us we learned the boundaries of our abilities and how to apply them, which in turn carried over to adult life. We learned a lot from it: teamwork, accountability, communication etc. But to me the most valuable lesson of all was: it sucks to suck.
I miss those years.