What's the matter with kids today?

I had to cross a picket line to get into school today. After my first class began a huge hoarde of students began running through the school, shouting and hollering. One of my students reached over and locked the door and I soon found out why. The crowd was cavorting through the school, pretty much barging into classrooms, trying to get other students to join them before they went down to Rouen for the big demonstration. They seemed to be having a good time. The prinicipal looked downright grumpy but I guess he couldn't do much, legally or physically.

It was a bit hard to hold class with all the noise, but eventually the protesters left and the school was left in peace, if not rather emptier than usual. I had six students today. I think some of them are starting to worry about falling behind.

I was impressed that my three first students weren't spirited away by the Pied Piper... however, I was less impressed when we got into the lesson...thinking it was relevant with all the interuptions, I started asking them questions about this whole CPE business, but they got tired of trying to explain in English (even though I kept providing them with vocabulary and asked to do something else.)

So I went on with my swing lesson...and after not to long it became clear they were dying to do something else, particularly as good natured giggling was giving way to downright mockery at my expense.

So I broke down and asked them what they wanted to do.

Take a field trip to the United States, they answered.

Ok, I answered, you get up the funds to pay for our plane tickets and pay me for the salary I'd be missing out on and we'll start making plans. Until then, what do you want to do? Why are you here?

To improve our English, they answered. You dancing is not helping us.

It's cultural, I defended myself. But I tried to lead a discussion!

That's too hard, they answered.

Ok, so they want to improve their English without doing anything hard. Like, you know, talking in that language.

Does this seem a little unreasonable to anyone else?

Perhaps it was the difficult vocabulary. Perhaps they feel if they hear the syllables "C" "P" and "E" together again they're won't be able to prevent themselves from jumping out the window.
Perhaps it was the abyss of my ignorance which demanded to be filled before the conversation continued. At any rate, I spent the rest of the period trying to find something they would be ok doing in two weeks for our last time together. They didn't have any suggestions. I suggested the chat idea, and they reluctantly accepted, provided the topic of conversation wasn't anything political and that I found someone under the age of 30 for them to talk to...

So if you're interested (and don't mind staying up rather late on a Monday night) or know someone who would be let me know. And even if you aren't for this time it would be cool to have people from other classes.

C'mon. You know you want to.