Eye-rolling epidemic

I don't whether to blame the bleak weather or the crunch time in the semester, but my colleagues and I are suffering through an epidemic of eye-rolling. I encounter it most in my composition class, where students are not shy about using body language to express the anguished question, "Why do I have to learn this?" And yesterday one of my departmental colleagues, who was working very hard to help a small group of students to improve their writing skills, actually had a student reject his suggestions with the brilliant question, "Don't you know we're paying your salary?"

I've been trying to think of a good response to that question, but the best I can do is "Of course you're paying my salary. That's why I'm doing my best to help you learn," which is true but not very satisfying. Likewise, "You're paying my salary because I'm the expert, so you ought to appreciate the opportunity to benefit from my expertise." The problem with reasonable statements like these is that they are unlikely to pop into mind when a snotty-nosed pipsqueak who can't form a complete sentence is rolling her eyes and expressing contempt for the value of the education we are trying to provide. The sentences that come more readily to mind, some actually containing the words "snotty-nosed pipsqueak," are unlikely to raise the tenor of the discussion. And so we stand there stumbling over our tongues.

There must be a better way! I welcome suggestions--otherwise, I may have to indulge in some eye-rolling of my own.