title:  Paul Ryan Is So Unpopular Even 8th Graders Refuse To Pose In Pic With Him (VIDEO)
text: House Speaker Paul Ryan is hugely unpopular, garnering only a 29 percent approval rating. Apparently, 8th graders disapprove of him, too. While on a field trip in Washington, D.C. on Friday, about half of the 8th-grade students from a South Orange Middle School refused to do a photo-op with Ryan. Instead, the nearly 100 students opted to sit in a parking lot across the street while the remaining students took part in the photo op, according to Mashable.Elissa Malespina, a school librarian and the parent one of the eighth graders who declined the photo op, said that she is proud of her son. I am so proud of my son and 1/2 the 8th grade at South Orange Middle School,  Malespina wrote on Facebook.  They went to D.C. on a field trip and toured the Capitol building. The kids had a chance to have their picture taken with Paul Ryan and over half the class choose not to, including my son! What a powerful statement. I can t take a picture with someone who supports a budget that would destroy public education and would leave 23 million people without healthcare,  Matthew Malespina, a student at the school, told The Village Green. It s not just a picture,  student Matthew told ABC News.  It s being associated with a person who puts his party before his country. I think that taking the picture represents that you agree with the same political views and I don t agree with his political views so I chose not to be in it,  eighth grader Wendy Weeks said.To some of the students, it had to do with Ryan s association with Donald Trump. I didn t want to be in [the picture] because he believes in most of what Trump believes in,  Louisa Maynard-Parisi, told The Village Green.Even though their politics might be different from Ryan s, other students decided to participate. I thought it would be interesting to see one of the nation s lawmakers in person even if I strongly disagree with many of his views,  said Alex Klint, one of the 8th-grader s said.Residents weighed in with conflicted feelings. I m sort of torn on this (although each kid has the right to make this choice),  wrote one SOMA resident.  Even though I totally disagree with everything he stands for, he is a legitimately elected official and represents our government at work. Meeting our representatives is an honor for a kid at least for what the office stands for (even if the person occupying that chair is less than honorable). And I do feel if there had been some conservative school where the kids refused to pose with President Obama, we would have been appalled by that,  the resident added.Matthew s mother told the paper,  It is his right as a citizen to do so and I commend him and his fellow students for doing so in a respectful way. Listen to the children they get it. Photo by Olivier Douliery via Getty Images.