8th graders from New Jersey refuse to be photographed with Paul Ryan

It's disrespectful to act that way towards any elected official regardless of party politics. When I was a kid my parents would have been ashamed of that kind of behavior. Oh yeah...there's no such thing as shame anymore.

Well, I guess the educational system is left leaning?

Seems to me that it probably went down like this: One or several of the kids perceived to be "cool" opted not to have their picture taken as many of the others didn't have a problem with it. This led to several others falling prey to peer pressure to also opt out of the picture. I would imagine most of them had no idea who Ryan is and what his party was either. Bottom line, this was a dumb protest. I'd rather see the kid(s) ask candid questions of the Speaker.